On the Beatitudes
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Chapter 1193
1193PG 44:1193c–1193d
Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους, ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὅρος· καὶ καθίσαντος αὑτοῦ, προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οὶ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀνοίξας τό στόμα αὐτοῦ, ’ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς, λέγωῖ· ΔῘγιακάμοι οἱ ᾲπτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύδιατι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τίς ἄρα τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὲν τοῖς συνειλεγμένοις, ὡς μαθητής τε εἶναι τοῦ Λόγου, καὶ συναναὸῆναι αὐτῷ χαμόθεν, ἀπὸ τῶν κοίλων τε καὶ ταπεινῶν νοημάτων, εἰς τὸ πνευματικὸν ὅρος τῆς ὑψηλῆς θεωρίαςς "0 πᾶσαν μὲν σκιὰν τὴν ὲκ τῶν ὑπερανεστηκότων τῆς κακίας γεωλόφων ἐκπέφευγεν, ἁπανταχόθεν δὲ τῇ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτὸς ἀκτῖνι περιλαμπόμενον, ὲν καθαρᾷ τῇ τῆς ἀληθείας αἰθρίᾳ πάντα δίδωσιν ἐκ περιωπῆς καθορᾷν, ὅσα τοῖς ὲν τῷ κοίλῳ καθειργμένοις ἐστὶν ἀθέατα. Τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους τούτου κατοπτευόμενα, οἷα καὶ ὅσα ἐστὶν, αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος, μακαρίζων τοὺς συναναὸόιντας αὐτῷ διεξέρχεται, οἷον δακτύλῳ τινὶ δεικνὺς, ἔνθεν μὲν τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, ἑτέρω- Θεν δὲ, τῆς ἄνω γῆς τὴν κληρονομίαν· εἶτα ἔλεον, καὶ δικαιοσύνην, καὶ παράκλησιν, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων γινομένην συγγένειαν· καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῶν διωγμῶν καρπὸν, ὅ ἐστι τὸ σύνοικον Θεοῦ γενέσθαι· καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα πάρεστι πρὸς τούτοις βλέπειν, ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ ὅρους δακτυλώεικτοῦντος τοῦ Λόγου, ὲκ τῆς
Idōn de tous ochlous, anebē eis to horos; kai kathisantos hautou, prosēlthon autǭ oi mathētai autou; kai anoixas to stoma autou, ’edidasken autous, legōi; DIgiakamoi hoi ąptōchoi tǭ pneudiati, hoti autōn estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn. Tis ara toioutos estin en tois syneilegmenois, hōs mathētēs te einai tou Logou, kai synanaoēnai autǭ chamothen, apo tōn koilōn te kai tapeinōn noēmatōn, eis to pneumatikon horos tēs hypsēlēs theōriass "0 pasan men skian tēn ek tōn hyperanestēkotōn tēs kakias geōlophōn ekpepheugen, hapantachothen de tę̄ tou alēthinou phōtos aktini perilampomenon, en katharą tę̄ tēs alētheias aithrią panta didōsin ek periōpēs kathorąn, hosa tois en tǭ koilǭ katheirgmenois estin atheata. Ta de apo tou hypsous toutou katopteuomena, hoia kai hosa estin, autos ho Theos Logos, makarizōn tous synanaoointas autǭ diexerchetai, hoion daktylǭ tini deiknys, enthen men tēn tōn ouranōn basileian, heterō- Then de, tēs anō gēs tēn klēronomian; eita eleon, kai dikaiosynēn, kai paraklēsin, kai tēn pros ton Theon tōn holōn ginomenēn syngeneian; kai ton ek tōn diōgmōn karpon, ho esti to synoikon Theou genesthai; kai hosa alla paresti pros toutois blepein, anōthen ek tou horous daktylōeiktountos tou Logou, ek tēs
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him; and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’” Who, then, among those gathered here is such as to be a disciple of the Word and to go up with him from below — from hollow and low thoughts — to the spiritual mountain of lofty contemplation? That mountain has escaped every shadow cast by the hills of vice that rise above, and, lit on every side by the ray of the true light, it lets one see from a vantage point, in the clear air of truth, all the things that are unseen by those shut in the hollow. What is beheld from this height, of what kind and how great it is, God the Word himself goes through as he blesses those who have gone up with him, pointing as with a finger: here the kingdom of heaven, there the inheritance of the land above; then mercy, and righteousness, and comfort, and kinship with the God of all; and the fruit of persecutions, which is to become God’s housemate; and whatever else there is to see besides these, as the Word points them out from the mountain above, seen through hope from the
Chapter 1195
1195PG 44:1196a–1196d
ὑψηλῆς σκοπιᾶς διὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἀποβλεπόμενον. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἀναδαίνει εἰς τὸ ὅρος 6 Κύριος, ἀκούσωμεν Ἡσαΐου βοῶντος· Δεῦτε, ἀναδῶμεν εʼῖς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου· κᾶν ἀσθενῶμεν ἐξ ἁμαρτίας, ὲνισχύσωμεν, καθὼς ὑφηγεῖται ή προφητεία, χεῖρας παρειμένας καὶ γόνατα παραλελυμένα. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἄκρου γενοίμεθα, εὑρήσομεν τὸν ἰώμενον πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶ·- μ σαν μαλακίαν, τὸν τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἀναλαμΰά- “ νοντα, καὶ τὰς νόσους βαστάζοντα. Οὐκοῦν δρα ’ μωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς πρὸς τὴν ἄνοδον, ἴνα μετὰ Ἡσαΐου κατὰ τὴν ἀκρώρειαν τῆς ἐλπίδος γενόμενοι, ἴδωμεν ἐκ περιωπῆς τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐκεῖνα, ὅσα τοῖς ἀκολουθήσασιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος 6 Λόγος δείκνυσιν. Ἀλλʼ ἀνοιξὼτω καὶ ἡμῖν 6 Θεὸς Λόγος τὸ στόμα, καὶ διδαξάτω ἡμᾶς ἐκεῖνα, ὧν ἡ ἀκρόασις μακαριότης ἐστίν· γενέσθω δὲ ήμῶν ἀρχὴ τῆς θεωρίας, ἡτῶν εἰρημένων τῆς διδασκαλίας ἀρχή. Μακάριοι, φησὶν, οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ,βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Εἰ τις τῶν φιλοχρύσων γράμμασιν ἐντύχοι θησαυρὸν ὲν τόπῳ καταμηνύουσιν · 6 δὲ περιέχων τὸν θησαυρὸν τόπος, πολὺν ἱδρῶτα καὶ κπόνον ὑποδεικνύοι τοῖς ἐπιθυμοῦσι τοῦ κτήματος· ἆρα μαλακισθήσεται πρὸς τοὺς πόνους, καὶ καταρᾳθυμήσει τοῦ κέρδους, καὶ τὸ μη·δένα κάματον ὑπὸ τῆς σπουδῆς εἰσενέγκασθαι, γλυο κότερον ’τοῦ πλούτου ποιήσεται; Ούκ ἐστι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἐστιν ο ἀλλὰ πάντας μὲν πρὸς τοῦτο παρακαλέσει τοὺς φίλους, πανταχόθεν δὲ ὡς ἂν οἷός τε τὴν πρὸς τοῦτο βοήθειαν ἑαυτῷ συναγείρας τῷ πλήθει τῆς χειρὸς, ἴδιον ποιεῖται τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν κεκρυμμένον. Οὗτος ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν 6 θησαυρὸς, ἀδελφοὶ, ὃν καταμηνύει τδ γράμμα* κέκρυπται δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀσαφείας 6 π).οὖτος.ούκοῢν χρησώμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς oi ἐπιθυμηταὶ τοῦ ἀκηράτου χρυσίου, τῇ τῶν εὐχῶν πολυχειρίᾳ, ὥστε ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς τὸν πλοῦτον ἐλθεῖν, καὶ πάντας ἐξ ἴσου διελέσθαι τὸν θησαυρὶν, καὶ ὅλον ἕκαστον κτήσασθαι. Τοιαύτη γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὴ διαίρεσις, ὥστε καί εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἀντιποιουμένους διαμερίζεσθαι, καὶ πᾶσαν ἑκάστῳ παρεῖναι, μὴ ἑλαττουμένην ὲν τοῖς συμμετέχουσιν. Ἐν μὲν γὰρτῇ τοῦ γηῖνου πλούτου διανομῇ ἀδικεῖ τοὺς ἰσομοιροῦντας 6 τὸ πλέον παραστησάμενος · ἐλαττοῖ γὰρ πάντως τὸ μέρος τοῦ συμμετέχοντος, 6 τὺ ἑαυτοῦ πλεο. νάσας · 6 δὲ πνευματικὸς πλοῦτος τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ποιεῖ, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς· βλέπουσιν ἑαυτὸν μερίζων, καί ὅλος ἑκάστῳ παραγινόμενος. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἴσον ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πόνου κέρδος ὲλπίξεται,ἰʼση γενέσθω πᾶσιν διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν πρὸς τὸ ζητούμενον ἡμῖν ἡ συνέργεια. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν αὐτόν φημι ἐγὼ δεῖν τὸν μακαρισμὸν,ὃτί ποτέ ἐστιν, ἐννοῆσαι. Μακαριότης τίς ἐστι, κατά γε τὸν ὲμὸν λόγον, περίληψις πάντων τῶν κατὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν νοουμένων ἧς ἄπεστι τῶν εἰς ἀγαθὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἡκόντων οὐδέν. Γένοιτο δʼ ἂν ἡμῖν καὶ ὲκ τῆς τοῦ ἐναντίου παραθέσεως γνωριμώτερον τὺ ὲκ ' τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ σημαινόμενον ο ἐναντίον δὲ τῷ μα- 7 ἡ κᾉ- Α.. »Ἰ- fi ν- γη.. -J
hypsēlēs skopias dia tōn elpidōn apoblepomenon. Epeidē oun anadainei eis to horos 6 Kyrios, akousōmen Hēsaïou boōntos; Deute, anadōmen eʼis to oros tou Kyriou; kan asthenōmen ex hamartias, enischysōmen, kathōs hyphēgeitai ē prophēteia, cheiras pareimenas kai gonata paralelymena. Ei gar epi tou akrou genoimetha, heurēsomen ton iōmenon pasan noson kai pa;- m san malakian, ton tas astheneias hēmōn analamÿa- “ nonta, kai tas nosous bastazonta. Oukoun dra ’ mōmen kai hēmeis pros tēn anodon, ina meta Hēsaïou kata tēn akrōreian tēs elpidos genomenoi, idōmen ek periōpēs ta agatha ekeina, hosa tois akolouthēsasin epi to hypsos 6 Logos deiknysin. Allʼ anoixōtō kai hēmin 6 Theos Logos to stoma, kai didaxatō hēmas ekeina, hōn hē akroasis makariotēs estin; genesthō de ēmōn archē tēs theōrias, hētōn eirēmenōn tēs didaskalias archē. Makarioi, phēsin, hoi ptōchoi tǭ pneumati, hoti autōn estin hē,basileia tōn ouranōn. Ei tis tōn philochrysōn grammasin entychoi thēsauron en topǭ katamēnyousin ; 6 de periechōn ton thēsauron topos, polyn hidrōta kai kponon hypodeiknyoi tois epithymousi tou ktēmatos; ara malakisthēsetai pros tous ponous, kai katarąthymēsei tou kerdous, kai to mē;dena kamaton hypo tēs spoudēs eisenenkasthai, glyo koteron ’tou ploutou poiēsetai? Ouk esti tauta, ouk estin o alla pantas men pros touto parakalesei tous philous, pantachothen de hōs an hoios te tēn pros touto boētheian heautǭ synageiras tǭ plēthei tēs cheiros, idion poieitai ton plouton ton kekrymmenon. Houtos ekeinos estin 6 thēsauros, adelphoi, hon katamēnyei td gramma* kekryptai de hypo tēs asapheias 6 p).outos.oukoÿn chrēsōmetha kai hēmeis oi epithymētai tou akēratou chrysiou, tę̄ tōn euchōn polycheirią, hōste hēmin eis to emphanes ton plouton elthein, kai pantas ex isou dielesthai ton thēsaurin, kai holon hekaston ktēsasthai. Toiautē gar tēs aretēs ē diairesis, hōste kai eis pantas tous antipoioumenous diamerizesthai, kai pasan hekastǭ pareinai, mē helattoumenēn en tois symmetechousin. En men gartę̄ tou gēinou ploutou dianomę̄ adikei tous isomoirountas 6 to pleon parastēsamenos ; elattoi gar pantōs to meros tou symmetechontos, 6 ty heautou pleo. nasas ; 6 de pneumatikos ploutos to tou hēliou poiei, kai pasi tois; blepousin heauton merizōn, kai holos hekastǭ paraginomenos. Epei oun ison hekastǭ to ek tou ponou kerdos elpixetai,iʼsē genesthō pasin dia tōn euchōn pros to zētoumenon hēmin hē synergeia. Prōton men oun auton phēmi egō dein ton makarismon,hoti pote estin, ennoēsai. Makariotēs tis esti, kata ge ton emon logon, perilēpsis pantōn tōn kata to agathon nooumenōn hēs apesti tōn eis agathēn epithymian hēkontōn ouden. Genoito dʼ an hēmin kai ek tēs tou enantiou paratheseōs gnōrimōteron ty ek ' tou makarismou sēmainomenon o enantion de tǭ ma- 7 hē kĄ- A.. »I- fi n- gē.. -J
lofty watchtower. Since, then, the Lord goes up the mountain, let us hear Isaiah crying, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord”; and even if we are weak from sin, let us strengthen, as the prophecy directs, “the drooping hands and the paralysed knees.” For if we reach the summit, we shall find the one who heals every disease and every infirmity, who takes up our weaknesses and bears our diseases. Let us, then, run to the ascent too, so that, having come with Isaiah to the summit of hope, we may see from the vantage point those good things which the Word shows to those who have followed him to the height. But may God the Word open his mouth for us as well and teach us those things the hearing of which is blessedness; and let the beginning of his teaching be the beginning of our contemplation. “Blessed,” he says, “are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Suppose some lover of gold came upon writings revealing a treasure in a certain place, and the place that held the treasure showed that much sweat and labour awaited those who wanted to possess it. Would he grow faint before the labours and neglect the gain, and think that avoiding all toil in pursuit of it is sweeter than the wealth? It is not so, it is not! He will call all his friends to the task, gather help for himself from everywhere as best he can, and by the multitude of hands make the hidden wealth his own. This is the treasure, brothers, that the text reveals; but the wealth is hidden by obscurity. So let us too, who desire the pure gold, use the many hands of prayer, so that the wealth may come into the open for us, and all may share the treasure equally while each acquires the whole. For such is the division of virtue: it is distributed among all who lay claim to it, and is wholly present to each, not lessened among those who share it. In dividing earthly wealth, one who takes more wrongs those with equal shares, for whoever increases his own portion certainly lessens his partner’s; but spiritual wealth does what the sun does, dividing itself among all who see it and being wholly present to each. Since, then, each hopes for an equal gain from the labour, let the help given by prayer toward what we seek be equal for all. First, then, I say that we must understand what blessedness itself is. Blessedness, in my account at least, is the sum of all things understood as good, from which nothing that good desire reaches for is absent. What blessedness signifies may also become clearer to us by comparison with its opposite. The opposite of
Chapter 1197
1197PG 44:1197a–1197b
ΗΕΠ γαρὶῳ τὸ ἄθλιον. ἈΟλιότης οὖν ἐστιν, ἠ ἐν τοῖς λυπηροῑς τε καὶ ἀβουλήτοις πάθεσι ταλαιπωρία. Μεμέρισται δὲ ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ὴ ἐφʼ ἑκατέρου τῶν ἐν αὑτοῖς γινομένων διάθεσις. ’Υπάρχει γὰρ τῷ μὲν μακαριζομένῳ τὸ εὐφραίνεσθαι τοῖς προκειμένοις εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν αὑτῷ καὶ ἀγάλλεσθαι· τῷ δὲ ταλανιζομένῳ τὸ ἀνιᾶσθαι τοῖς παροῦσιν αὑτῷ καὶ ἀλγύνεσθαι. T6 μὲν οὖν μακαριστὸν ἀληθῶς, αὑτὸ τὸ Θεῖόν ἐστιν. ’Ὀ τί ποτε γὰρ αὑτὸ εἶναι ὑποθώμεθα, μακαριότης ἐστὶν ἡ ἀκήρατος ἐκείνη ζωὴ, τὸ ἄρρητόν τε καὶ ἀκατανόητον ἀγαθὸν, τὸ ἀνέκφραστον κάλλος, ἡ αὑτοχάρις, καὶ σοφία, καὶ δύναμις · τὸ ἀληθινὸν φῶς. ἡ πηγὴ πάσης ἁγαθότητος · ἡ ὑπερκειμένη τοῦ παντὸς ἐξουσία ο τὸ μόνον ἐράσμιον, τὸ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχον. τὸ διηνεκὲς ἀγαλλίαμα · ἡ ἀΐδιος εὐφροσύνη · περὶ ἧς πάντα τις ἃ. δύναται λέγων, λέγει τῶν κατʼ ἀξίαν οὐδέν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἡ διάνοια καθικνεῖται τοῦ ὄντος, κάν τι περὶ αὑτοῦ τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων νοῆσαι χωρήσωμεν, οὑδενὶ λόγῳ τὸ νοηθὲν ἐξαγγέλλεται. Ἐπεὶ δὲ 6 πλάσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατʼ εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόνʼ δευτέρως ἂν εἴη μακαριστὸν τὸ κατὰ μετουσίαν τῆς ὅντως μακαριότητος ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ γινόμενον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς σωματικῆς εὑ μορφίας, τὸ μὲν πρωτὸτυπον κάλλος ὲν τῷ ζῶντι προσώπῳ ἐστὶ καὶ ὑφεστῶτι, δευτερεύει δὲ τούτου τὸ κατὰ μίμησιν ἐπὶ τῆς είκιίνος δεικνύμενον · οὕτως καί ἠ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις, εἰκὼν οὖσα τῆς ὑπερκειμένης μακαριότητος. καὶ αὑτὴ τῷ ἀγαθῷ κάλλει χαρακτηρίζεται, ὄταν ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς δεικνύει τὰς τῶν μακαρίων χαρακτήρων ἐμφάσεις. Ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ 6 τῆς ἁμαρτίας ῥύπος τὸ ἐπὶ εἰκόνος κάλλος ὴχρείωσεν ’ ἦλθεν 6 ὲκνίπτων ημᾶς τῷ ἰδίῳ ὑδατι, τῷ ζῶντί τε καὶ ἀλλομένῳ είς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ὥστε ἡμᾶς ἀποθεμένους τὸ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας αἶσχος, πάλιν κατὰ τὴν μακαρίαν ἁνακαινισθῆναι μορφήν. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ζωγραφικῆς τέχνης εῖποι ἄν τις πρὸς τοὺς ἀπείρους 6 ἐπιστήμων, ἐκεῖνο καλὸν εἶναι τὸ πρόσωπον, τὸ ἐκ τοιῶνδε τῶν τοῦ σώματος μορίων συγκείμενονο κόμη τε τοιάδε, καὶ ὀφθαλμῶν κύκλοι, καὶ ὀφρύων περιγραφαὶ, καὶ παρειῶν θέσις, καὶ τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστον πάντα διʼ ὧν συμπληροῢται ἡ εὐμορφία · οὑτως καὶ ὁτὴν ἡμετέραν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ μένου μακαρίου μίμησιν ἀναζωγραφιῖΝ ψυχὴ, τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστον τῶν εἰς μακαρισμὸν συντεινόντων, ὑπογράφει τῷ λόγῳ, καί φησιν ἐν πρώτοιςʼ Μακάριοι οἱπτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
ĒEP gariǭ to athlion. AOliotēs oun estin, ē en tois lypērois te kai aboulētois pathesi talaipōria. Memeristai de ek tou enantiou ē ephʼ hekaterou tōn en hautois ginomenōn diathesis. ’Yparchei gar tǭ men makarizomenǭ to euphrainesthai tois prokeimenois eis apolausin hautǭ kai agallesthai; tǭ de talanizomenǭ to aniasthai tois parousin hautǭ kai algynesthai. T6 men oun makariston alēthōs, hauto to Theion estin. ’O ti pote gar hauto einai hypothōmetha, makariotēs estin hē akēratos ekeinē zōē, to arrēton te kai akatanoēton agathon, to anekphraston kallos, hē hautocharis, kai sophia, kai dynamis ; to alēthinon phōs. hē pēgē pasēs hagathotētos ; hē hyperkeimenē tou pantos exousia o to monon erasmion, to aei hōsautōs echon. to diēnekes agalliama ; hē aïdios euphrosynē ; peri hēs panta tis ha. dynatai legōn, legei tōn katʼ axian ouden. Oute gar hē dianoia kathikneitai tou ontos, kan ti peri hautou tōn hypsēloterōn noēsai chōrēsōmen, houdeni logǭ to noēthen exangelletai. Epei de 6 plasas ton anthrōpon, katʼ eikona Theou epoiēsen autonʼ deuterōs an eiē makariston to kata metousian tēs hontōs makariotētos en tǭ onomati toutǭ ginomenon. Hōsper gar epi tēs sōmatikēs heu morphias, to men prōtotypon kallos en tǭ zōnti prosōpǭ esti kai hyphestōti, deutereuei de toutou to kata mimēsin epi tēs eikiinos deiknymenon ; houtōs kai ē anthrōpinē physis, eikōn ousa tēs hyperkeimenēs makariotētos. kai hautē tǭ agathǭ kallei charaktērizetai, otan ephʼ heautēs deiknyei tas tōn makariōn charaktērōn emphaseis. Allʼ epeidē 6 tēs hamartias rhypos to epi eikonos kallos ēchreiōsen ’ ēlthen 6 ekniptōn ēmas tǭ idiǭ hydati, tǭ zōnti te kai allomenǭ eis zōēn aiōnion, hōste hēmas apothemenous to ex hamartias aischos, palin kata tēn makarian hanakainisthēnai morphēn. Kai kathaper epi tēs zōgraphikēs technēs eipoi an tis pros tous apeirous 6 epistēmōn, ekeino kalon einai to prosōpon, to ek toiōnde tōn tou sōmatos moriōn synkeimenono komē te toiade, kai ophthalmōn kykloi, kai ophryōn perigraphai, kai pareiōn thesis, kai ta kathʼ hekaston panta diʼ hōn symplēroÿtai hē eumorphia ; houtōs kai hotēn hēmeteran pros tēn tou menou makariou mimēsin anazōgraphiiN psychē, ta kathʼ hekaston tōn eis makarismon synteinontōn, hypographei tǭ logǭ, kai phēsin en prōtoisʼ Makarioi hoiptōchoi tǭ pneumati, hoti autōn estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn.
blessedness is misery. Misery, then, is wretchedness in painful and unwanted sufferings. The dispositions of the two, in what happens to them, are divided as opposites: the one called blessed delights and exults in what is set before him to enjoy; the one called wretched is distressed and pained by what is present to him. What is truly blessed is the Divine itself. For whatever we suppose it to be, blessedness is that pure life, the ineffable and incomprehensible good, the inexpressible beauty, grace itself, and wisdom, and power; the true light, the source of all goodness, the authority that transcends all things, the only thing worthy of love, that which is always the same, unceasing exultation, eternal joy — of which, if one says all he can, he says nothing worthy of it. For thought does not reach what is; and even if we manage to conceive something loftier about it, what is conceived is expressed by no word. But since the one who formed man made him in the image of God, what comes to bear this name by participation in true blessedness would be blessed in the second place. As with bodily beauty the original beauty is in the living and existing face, and what is shown by imitation in the image comes second, so too human nature, being an image of the transcendent blessedness, is itself stamped with the beauty of the good when it displays in itself the reflections of the blessed characters. But since the filth of sin had spoiled the beauty of the image, he came who washes us with his own water, the living water that springs up to eternal life, so that we might put off the shame of sin and be renewed again in the blessed form. And as in the art of painting someone skilled might tell those without experience that a beautiful face is one made up of such and such parts — hair of this kind, the circles of the eyes, the outline of the eyebrows, the setting of the cheeks, and all the particulars by which beauty is completed — so too the one who repaints our soul to the likeness of the only Blessed One describes in his word each of the things that contribute to blessedness, and says first: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Chapter 1199
1199PG 44:1200a–1200c
πτωχεύσαι τῷ πνεύματι, διʼ οὗ περιγίνεται τὸ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐγκρατῆ γενέσθαι; Δύο πλούτους ποιρά τῆς Γραφῆς μεμαθήκαμενοδα σπουδαζόμενον, καὶ ἕνα κατακρινόμενον. Σπουδάζεται μὲν ὁ τῶν ἀρετῶν πλοῦτος, διασάλλεται δὲ ό ύλικός τε καὶ ’ γήϊνος· ὅτι ὁ μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς γίνεται κτῆμα, οὗτος δὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν αἰσθητηρίων ἀπάτην ἐπιτηδείως ’ ἔχει. Διὸ κωλύει τοῦτον θησαυρίζειν ὁ Κύριος, ὡς είς βρῶσιν θητῶν καὶ είς ἐπιβουλὴν τῶν τοιχωρυ· χούντων ἐκκείμενον. Κελεύει δὲ περὶ τὸν τῶν ὑψηλῶν πλοῦτον τὴν σπουδὴν ἔχειν, οὗ ἡ φθαρτικὴ δύναμις οὐ προσάπτεται. Σῆτα δὲ καὶ κλέπτην είπὼν, τὸν λυμεῶνα τῶν τῆς ψυχῆςι θησαυρῶν ἐνεδείξατο. Et οὖν ἀντιδιαστέλλεταιὴ πενία τῷ πλούτῳ, πάντως κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν καὶ διπλῆν ἔστι διδαχθῆναι πενίαν ο τὴν μὲν ἀπὸόλητον, τὴν δὲ μακαριζομένην. Ὀ μὲν οὖν σωφροσύνης πτωχεύων, ἢ τοῦ τιμίου κτήματος τῆς δικαιοσύνης, ἢ τῆς σοφίας, ἧ τῆς φρονήσεως,ἢ ἄλλου τινος τῶν πολυτελῶν κειμηλίων πένης τε καὶ ἀκτήμων καὶ πτωχὸς εὑρισκόμενος, ἄθλιος τῆς πενίας καί ἐλεεινὸς τῆς τῶν τιμίων ἀκτημοσύνης ο ὁ δὲ πάντων τῶν κατὰ κακίαν νοουμένων ἑκουσίως πτωχεύων, καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν διαβολικῶν κειμηλίων ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ταμείοις ἔχων ἀπόθετον, ἀλλά τῷ πνεύματι ζέων, καὶ διὰ τούτου τὴν τῶν κακῶν πενίαν ἐαυτῷ θησαυρίζων. εἴη ἂν οὗτος ἐν τῇ μακαριζομένῃ πτωχείᾳ ὑπὸ τοῦ Λόγου δεικνύμενος, ἦς ὁ καρπὸς βασιλεία οὐρανῶν ἐστιν. Ἀλλʼ ἐπανέλθωμεν πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν τοῦ θησαυροῦ, καὶ μὴ ἀποστῶμεν τῷ μεταλλευτικῷ λόγῳ τὸ κεκρυμμένον ἀνακαλύπτοντες, Μακάριοι, φησιν, οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι. Εἴρηται μὲν τρόπον τινὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, καὶ νῦν πάλιν εἰρήσεται, ὅτι τέλος τοῦ κατʼ ἀρετὴν βίου ἐστὶν ή πρὸς τὸ Θείον ὁμοίωσις. Ἀλλά μὴν τὸ ἀπαθὲς καὶ ἀκήρατον ἐκφεύγει πάντη τὴν παρὰ ἀνθρώπων μίμησιν. Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι δυνατὸν πάντη τὴν ἐμπαθῆ ζωὴν ὁμοιωθῆναι πρὸς τὴν τῶν παθῶν ἀνεπίδεκτον φύσιν. Et οὖν μόνον τὸ Θεῖον μακάριον, καθὼςό Ἀπόστολος ὀνομάζει, ή δὲ τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ κοινωνία τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διά τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν ἐστιν ὁμοιώσεως, ήδέ μίμησις ἄποροςʼ ἀρα ἀνέφικτός ἐστιν μακαριότης τῇ ἀνθρωο πίνῃ ζωῇ. Ἀλλʼ ἐστιν ἃ τῆς Θεότητος δυνατὰ τοῖς βουλομένοις πρόκειται εἰς μίμησιν. Τίνα οὖν ἐστι ταῦτα; δοκεί μοι πτωχείαν πνεύματος, τὴν ἑκούσιον ταπεινοὶρροσύνην ὀνομάζειν ὁ Λόγος. Ταύτης δὲ ὑπόδειγμα,τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ πτωχείαν ὁ Ἀπόοτολος ἡμῖν λέ·γων προδείκνυσιν, ὃς διʼ ’ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσε πλούσιος ὢν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς τῇ ἐκείνου πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσωμεν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τά ἄλλα πάντα, ὅσα πε ρὶ τὴν θείαν καθορᾶται φύσιν, ὑπερπίπτει τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ἡ δὲ ταπεινότης συμφυής τις ἡμῖν ἐστι καὶ σύντροφος τοῖς χαμαὶ ἐρχομένοις, καὶ ἐκ γῆς τὴν σύστασιν ἔχουσιν, καὶ είς γῆν καταρῤέουσιν ο ἐν τῷ κατὰ φύσιν σὺ καὶ δυνατῷ τὸν Θεὸν μιμησάμενος, τὴν μακαρίαν αὐτὸς ύπέδυς μορφήν. Καὶ μηδεὶς ἄπονον οίέσθω,
ptōcheusai tǭ pneumati, diʼ hou periginetai to tēs basileias tōn ouranōn enkratē genesthai? Dyo ploutous poira tēs Graphēs memathēkamenoda spoudazomenon, kai hena katakrinomenon. Spoudazetai men ho tōn aretōn ploutos, diasalletai de o ylikos te kai ’ gēïnos; hoti ho men tēs psychēs ginetai ktēma, houtos de pros tēn tōn aisthētēriōn apatēn epitēdeiōs ’ echei. Dio kōlyei touton thēsaurizein ho Kyrios, hōs eis brōsin thētōn kai eis epiboulēn tōn toichōry; chountōn ekkeimenon. Keleuei de peri ton tōn hypsēlōn plouton tēn spoudēn echein, hou hē phthartikē dynamis ou prosaptetai. Sēta de kai kleptēn eipōn, ton lymeōna tōn tēs psychēsi thēsaurōn enedeixato. Et oun antidiastelletaiē penia tǭ ploutǭ, pantōs kata tēn analogian kai diplēn esti didachthēnai penian o tēn men apoolēton, tēn de makarizomenēn. O men oun sōphrosynēs ptōcheuōn, ē tou timiou ktēmatos tēs dikaiosynēs, ē tēs sophias, hē tēs phronēseōs,ē allou tinos tōn polytelōn keimēliōn penēs te kai aktēmōn kai ptōchos heuriskomenos, athlios tēs penias kai eleeinos tēs tōn timiōn aktēmosynēs o ho de pantōn tōn kata kakian nooumenōn hekousiōs ptōcheuōn, kai ouden tōn diabolikōn keimēliōn en tois idiois tameiois echōn apotheton, alla tǭ pneumati zeōn, kai dia toutou tēn tōn kakōn penian eautǭ thēsaurizōn. eiē an houtos en tę̄ makarizomenę̄ ptōcheią hypo tou Logou deiknymenos, ēs ho karpos basileia ouranōn estin. Allʼ epanelthōmen palin epi tēn ergasian tou thēsaurou, kai mē apostōmen tǭ metalleutikǭ logǭ to kekrymmenon anakalyptontes, Makarioi, phēsin, hoi ptōchoi tǭ pneumati. Eirētai men tropon tina touto kai en tois emprosthen, kai nyn palin eirēsetai, hoti telos tou katʼ aretēn biou estin ē pros to Theion homoiōsis. Alla mēn to apathes kai akēraton ekpheugei pantē tēn para anthrōpōn mimēsin. Oude gar esti dynaton pantē tēn empathē zōēn homoiōthēnai pros tēn tōn pathōn anepidekton physin. Et oun monon to Theion makarion, kathōso Apostolos onomazei, ē de tou makarismou koinōnia tois anthrōpois dia tēs pros ton Theon estin homoiōseōs, ēde mimēsis aporosʼ ara anephiktos estin makariotēs tę̄ anthrōo pinę̄ zōę̄. Allʼ estin ha tēs Theotētos dynata tois boulomenois prokeitai eis mimēsin. Tina oun esti tauta? dokei moi ptōcheian pneumatos, tēn hekousion tapeinoirrosynēn onomazein ho Logos. Tautēs de hypodeigma,tēn tou Theou ptōcheian ho Apootolos hēmin le;gōn prodeiknysin, hos diʼ ’hēmas eptōcheuse plousios ōn, hina hēmeis tę̄ ekeinou ptōcheią ploutēsōmen. Epei oun ta alla panta, hosa pe ri tēn theian kathoratai physin, hyperpiptei tǭ metrǭ tēs anthrōpinēs physeōs hē de tapeinotēs symphyēs tis hēmin esti kai syntrophos tois chamai erchomenois, kai ek gēs tēn systasin echousin, kai eis gēn katarreousin o en tǭ kata physin sy kai dynatǭ ton Theon mimēsamenos, tēn makarian autos ypedys morphēn. Kai mēdeis aponon oiesthō,
… to be poor in spirit, by which one comes to possess the kingdom of heaven? We have learned from Scripture of two kinds of wealth, one sought after and one condemned. The wealth of the virtues is sought after; material and earthly wealth is reproached, because the one becomes the soul’s possession, while the other is suited to the deception of the senses. Therefore the Lord forbids storing it up, as exposed to the eating of moths and the schemes of house-breakers, and bids us be zealous for the wealth of lofty things, which no destructive power touches. By speaking of moth and thief he pointed to the destroyer of the soul’s treasures. If, then, poverty is set against wealth, by analogy we can also be taught a twofold poverty, one rejected and the other called blessed. One who is poor in self-control, or in the precious possession of justice, or of wisdom, or of prudence, or who is found poor, without possessions, and destitute of any other costly treasure, is wretched in his poverty and pitiable for his lack of precious things. But one who is voluntarily poor in all that is understood as vice, and has stored in his treasuries none of the devil’s treasures, but is fervent in spirit and by this stores up for himself a poverty of evils — this one would be shown by the Word to be in the blessed poverty, whose fruit is the kingdom of heaven. But let us return to the working of the treasure, and not give up uncovering what is hidden by our mining discourse. “Blessed,” he says, “are the poor in spirit.” It has been said in a way before, and will be said again now, that the end of the life of virtue is likeness to the Divine. But the impassible and pure wholly escapes human imitation; for it is not possible for a life subject to passion to be made wholly like the nature that admits no passions. If, then, only the Divine is blessed, as the Apostle calls it, and human beings share in blessedness through likeness to God, while imitation is impossible, then blessedness is beyond the reach of human life. But there are things of the Godhead that are set before those who wish to imitate them. What are these? It seems to me that the Word calls voluntary humility “poverty of spirit.” As an example of it the Apostle shows us the poverty of God when he says that “for our sake he became poor, though he was rich, so that we by his poverty might become rich.” Since all the other things seen in the divine nature surpass the measure of human nature, but humility is natural and familiar to us who walk on the ground, who have our composition from earth and flow back into earth, in imitating God in what is natural and possible for you, you have yourself put on the blessed form. And let no one think
Chapter 1201
1201PG 44:1201a–1201d
καὶ μετᾶ ῥᾳστώνης ὲκποριζόμενον τὸ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης κατόρθωμα. Τὸ ἐναντίον μὲν οὖν παντὸς οὑτινοσοῦν τῶν κατάρετὴν ἐπιτηδευομένων.τὸ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ἐπιπονώτερον. Διά τί; ὅτι καθεύδοντος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τοῦ τὰ καλὰ σπέρματα δεξαμένου, τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς ἐναντίας σπορᾶς παρά τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν τὸ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ὲρριζὼθη ζιζάνιον. Διʼ ὧν γάρ ἐκεῖνος ἑαυτὸν είς γῆν ωτὲρραξεν, τῷ αὐτῷ τρόπῳ τὸ δείλαιον γένος τὸ ἀνθρώπινον πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν πτῶμα ἐαυτῷ συγκατέβαλεν· καὶ οὐδέν ἑστιν ἄλλο τῆς φύσεως ήμῶν τοιοῦτον κακὸν, ὡς τὸ διʼ ὑπερηφαπάθος παντὶ σχεδὸν τῷ κοινωνοῦντι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ήμῶν τὴν ύτέερηφανίαν, ἐν τῷ συμβουλεύειν μιμήσασθαι τὸν ἑκουσίως πτωχεύσαντα, ὃς ἐστιν καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· ὃς ὲν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρο φροσύνης βλεπέτω μέτρον. """' ""'16 -Ἰ Α ι -. λογισμῷ καταστείλαντες, εὐεπίβατον ἑαυτοῖς τὴν τε
kai meta rhąstōnēs ekporizomenon to tēs tapeinophrosynēs katorthōma. To enantion men oun pantos houtinosoun tōn kataretēn epitēdeuomenōn.to toiouton estin epiponōteron. Dia ti? hoti katheudontos tou anthrōpou, tou ta kala spermata dexamenou, to kephalaion tēs enantias sporas para tou echthrou tēs zōēs hēmōn to tēs hyperēphanias errizōthē zizanion. Diʼ hōn gar ekeinos heauton eis gēn ōterraxen, tǭ autǭ tropǭ to deilaion genos to anthrōpinon pros to koinon ptōma eautǭ synkatebalen; kai ouden hestin allo tēs physeōs ēmōn toiouton kakon, hōs to diʼ hyperēphapathos panti schedon tǭ koinōnounti tēs anthrōpinēs ēmōn tēn yteerēphanian, en tǭ symbouleuein mimēsasthai ton hekousiōs ptōcheusanta, hos estin kai en Christǭ Iēsou; hos en morphę̄ Theou hyparo phrosynēs blepetō metron. """' ""'16 -I A i -. logismǭ katasteilantes, euepibaton heautois tēn te
that the achievement of humility is without labour and gained with ease. On the contrary, it is more laborious than any of the pursuits of virtue whatever. Why? Because while the man who had received the good seeds was asleep, the chief of the enemy’s sowing, the weed of arrogance, was rooted in us by the enemy of our life. For by the same means by which he dashed himself to the earth, he threw down the wretched human race with him into the common fall; and there is no other evil in our nature like that which comes through arrogance … the passion … in almost everyone who shares in our human nature … arrogance, by counselling us to imitate the one who became poor of his own will, “who, though he was in the form of God …” … let him look at the measure … having checked … by reasoning, let us make the road of humility easy for ourselves to travel.
Chapter 1203
1203PG 44:1204a–1204d
Ι Ξ(ὶᾶ ταπεινοφροσύνης ὁδὸν καταστήσωμεν. Πόθεν οὖν ἂν· τις μᾶλλον ἐπιδείξειε 1:06 τὺφου τὸ μάταιονς Πόθεν ἄλλοθεν, ἢ ὲκ τοῦ δεῖξαι τὴν φύσιν, ἥτις ἐστίν; Ὀ γὰρ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, καὶ μὴ τὰ περὶ αὑτὸν βλέπων, οὐκ ἂν εὐλόγως εἰς τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐμπέσοι πάθος. Τί οὗν ἐστιν ἄνθρωποςς Βούλει τὸν σεμνότερον καὶ τιμιὼτε ρον ετπω τῶν λόγων; Ἀλλʼ 6 κοσμῶν τὰ ἡμέτερα, καὶ πρὸς τὸ κομπωδέστερον διασκευάξων τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐγένειαν, ὲκ πηλοῦ γενεαλογεῖ τὴν φύσιν καὶ ἡ εὐγένεια, καὶ ή σεμνότης τοῦ ὑπερηφάνου, τὸ συγγενὲς πρὸς τήν πλίνθον ἔχει. El δὲ τὴν προσεχῆ τε καὶ πρόχειρον τῆς γενέσεως εἰπεῖν ἐθέλοις, ἄπαγε, μὴ φθέγξῃ περὶ τούτου μὴ γρύξῃς, μὴ ἀνακαλύψης, καθώς φησιν 6 νόμος, ἀσχημοσύνην πατρὸς καὶ μητρός σου · μὴ δημοσιεύσῃς τῷ λόγῳ τὰ λήθης ἄξια. Εἶτα οὐκ ἐρυθριᾷς, 6 γήῖνος ἁνδριὰς, 6 μετʼ ὀλίγον κόνις,ὁ πομφόλυγος δίκην ὠκύμορον ὲν σεαυτῷ περιέχων τὸ φύσημα, πλήρης ὑπερηφανίας γινόμενος, καὶ περιφλεγμαίνων τῷ τύφῳ, καὶ τῷ ματαίῳ φρονήματι ὲξογκῶν τὴν διάνοιαν. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς είς ἀμφότερα τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὰ πέρατα, καὶ ὅπως ἄρχεται, καὶ είς ὅ τι λήγεις Ἀλλὰ γαυριᾷς τῇ νεότητι, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἄνθος τῆς ἡλικίας βλέπεις, καὶ ὲγκαλλωπίζῃ τῇ ῶρᾳ, ὄτι σοι ὑπερσφριο γῶσιν αἱ χεῖρες πρὸς κίνησιν, καὶ κοῦφοι πρὸς τὸ ἅλμα 0i πόδες, καὶ περισοόεἰ ταῖς αὔραις 6 βόστρυχος, καὶ τήν παρειὰν ὑπογράφει ό ῐουλος, καὶ ὅτι σοι ἡ ἐσθὴς τῇ βαφῇ τῆς πρφύραςδὺπερανθίζεται, καὶ πεποίκιλταί σοι τὰ ἐκ σηρῶν ὑφάσματα, πολέμοις ἢ θήραις, ἦ τισιν ἱστορίαις πεποικιλμένα,“ἢ τάχα καὶ πρὸς τὰ πέδιλα βλέπεις ἐπιμελῶς ὲν τῷ μέλανι στίλβοντα, καὶ περιέργως ταῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ραφίδων γραμμαῖς ἓπιτέρποντα; Πρὸς ταῦτα βλέπεις, πρὸς δὲ σεαυτὸν ὦῦχ ὀρᾷςς Δείξω σοι ὥσπερ ὲν κατόπτρῳ, τίς εἶ καὶ οἷος εἷ. Οὐκ εἶδες ὲν πολυανδρίῳ τὰ τῆς φύσεως ἡ μῶν μυστήρια; οὐκ εἶδες τήν ἐπάλληλον τῶν ὀστέων σωρείαν; κρανία σαρκῶν γεγυμνωμένα, φόὸερὸν τι καὶ εἰδεχθὲς ἐν διακένοις δεδορκότα τοῖς όμμασινς Εἶδες στόματα σεσηρότα, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν μελῶνλπρδς τὸ συμβὰν πεφορημένα; Εἰ ἐκεῖνα εἶδες, σεαυτὸν ὲν ὲκείνοις τεθέασαι. Ποῦ τοῦ παρόντος ἄνθους τὰ σύμβολας ποῦ ή εὖχροια τῆς παρειᾶς; ποῦ τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους ἄν· θος; ποῦ τὸ βλοσυρὸν ἐν τοῖς ὄμμασι κάλλος τῇ πε ρισολῇ τῶν ὀφρύων ὑπολαμπόμενον; ποῦ ἡ εὐθεῖα ῥὶς,)τῶ κάλλει τῶν παρειῶν μεσιτεύουσα; ποῦ αἱ ἐπαυχένιοι κόμαι; ποῦ οἱπερικροτάφιοι βόστρυχοι ; ποῦ αἱ τοξαζό μεναι χεῖρες; οἱ ίππαζόμενοι πόδες ; ὴπορφύρα ;ή βύσσοςς ἡ χλανῐς; ἡ ζὼνη; τὰ πέδιλα; 6 ἴππης; 6 δρόμος; τὸ φρύαγμα; πάντα, διʼ ὧν σοι νῦν 6,τῦφος …; Ποῦ ταῦτα ἐν ἐκείνοις, εἰπὲ, ὑπὲρ ὧν νῦν ἑπαίρῃ καὶ μεγαλοφρονεῖς ; Ποῖον οὕτως ἀνυπόστατον ὅναρς Ποῖα τοιαῦτα ἐξ ὕπνου φαντάσματα; Τίς οὕτως
I X(ia tapeinophrosynēs hodon katastēsōmen. Pothen oun an; tis mallon epideixeie 1:06 typhou to mataions Pothen allothen, ē ek tou deixai tēn physin, hētis estin? O gar pros heauton, kai mē ta peri hauton blepōn, ouk an eulogōs eis to toiouton empesoi pathos. Ti houn estin anthrōposs Boulei ton semnoteron kai timiōte ron etpō tōn logōn? Allʼ 6 kosmōn ta hēmetera, kai pros to kompōdesteron diaskeuaxōn tēn anthrōpinēn eugeneian, ek pēlou genealogei tēn physin kai hē eugeneia, kai ē semnotēs tou hyperēphanou, to syngenes pros tēn plinthon echei. El de tēn prosechē te kai procheiron tēs geneseōs eipein ethelois, apage, mē phthenxę̄ peri toutou mē gryxę̄s, mē anakalypsēs, kathōs phēsin 6 nomos, aschēmosynēn patros kai mētros sou ; mē dēmosieusę̄s tǭ logǭ ta lēthēs axia. Eita ouk erythriąs, 6 gēinos handrias, 6 metʼ oligon konis,ho pompholygos dikēn ōkymoron en seautǭ periechōn to physēma, plērēs hyperēphanias ginomenos, kai periphlegmainōn tǭ typhǭ, kai tǭ mataiǭ phronēmati exonkōn tēn dianoian. Ouch horąs eis amphotera tēs zōēs tou anthrōpou ta perata, kai hopōs archetai, kai eis ho ti lēgeis Alla gauriąs tę̄ neotēti, kai pros to anthos tēs hēlikias blepeis, kai enkallōpizę̄ tę̄ ōrą, oti soi hypersphrio gōsin hai cheires pros kinēsin, kai kouphoi pros to halma 0i podes, kai perisooei tais aurais 6 bostrychos, kai tēn pareian hypographei o ioulos, kai hoti soi hē esthēs tę̄ baphę̄ tēs prphyrasdyperanthizetai, kai pepoikiltai soi ta ek sērōn hyphasmata, polemois ē thērais, ē tisin historiais pepoikilmena,“ē tacha kai pros ta pedila blepeis epimelōs en tǭ melani stilbonta, kai periergōs tais apo tōn raphidōn grammais hepiterponta? Pros tauta blepeis, pros de seauton ōych orąss Deixō soi hōsper en katoptrǭ, tis ei kai hoios hei. Ouk eides en polyandriǭ ta tēs physeōs hē mōn mystēria? ouk eides tēn epallēlon tōn osteōn sōreian? krania sarkōn gegymnōmena, phooeron ti kai eidechthes en diakenois dedorkota tois ommasins Eides stomata sesērota, kai ta loipa tōn melōnlprds to symban pephorēmena? Ei ekeina eides, seauton en ekeinois tetheasai. Pou tou parontos anthous ta symbolas pou ē euchroia tēs pareias? pou to epi tou cheilous an; thos? pou to blosyron en tois ommasi kallos tę̄ pe risolę̄ tōn ophryōn hypolampomenon? pou hē eutheia rhis,)tō kallei tōn pareiōn mesiteuousa? pou hai epauchenioi komai? pou hoiperikrotaphioi bostrychoi ? pou hai toxazo menai cheires? hoi ippazomenoi podes ? ēporphyra ?ē byssoss hē chlanis? hē zōnē? ta pedila? 6 ippēs? 6 dromos? to phryagma? panta, diʼ hōn soi nyn 6,typhos …? Pou tauta en ekeinois, eipe, hyper hōn nyn hepairę̄ kai megalophroneis ? Poion houtōs anypostaton honars Poia toiauta ex hypnou phantasmata? Tis houtōs
humility. How, then, could anyone better show the vanity of conceit? How else than by showing what our nature is? For one who looks at himself, and not at the things around him, would hardly fall into such a passion. What, then, is man? Do you want me to give the more dignified and honourable account? Even the one who adorns our condition and dresses up human nobility more boastfully traces the genealogy of our nature from clay; the nobility and dignity of the arrogant man is akin to the brick. And if you wish to speak of the immediate and nearer source of our birth — away with it! Do not utter a word about it, do not mutter, do not, as the law says, uncover the nakedness of your father and mother; do not publish in speech what deserves oblivion. Are you not ashamed, then, earthen statue, soon to be dust, who like a bubble hold within yourself a short-lived puff of air, to be full of arrogance, inflamed with conceit, and swelling your mind with vain thinking? Do you not look at both ends of human life, how it begins and in what it ends? But you exult in your youth, look at the flower of your age, and pride yourself on your bloom: your hands are vigorous for movement, your feet light for leaping, your curls toss in the breeze, the first down marks your cheek, your clothing blooms with purple dye, and your silks are embroidered with wars or hunts or some stories; or perhaps you look at your shoes, carefully polished black and elaborately pleasing with lines of stitching. You look at these things, but do you not see yourself? I will show you, as in a mirror, who you are and what you are like. Have you not seen in a common burial ground the mysteries of our nature? Have you not seen the heap of bones piled on bones, skulls stripped of flesh, staring fearfully and hideously with empty eyes? Have you seen mouths grinning and the rest of the limbs scattered at random? If you have seen those, you have seen yourself in them. Where are the signs of your present bloom? Where is the good colour of the cheek, the bloom on the lip, the stern beauty of the eyes shining beneath the circle of the brows? Where is the straight nose set between the beauty of the cheeks? Where are the locks on the neck, the curls about the temples? Where are the hands that draw the bow, the feet that ride? The purple, the fine linen, the cloak, the belt, the shoes, the horse, the race, the snorting — all the things by which conceit now … ? Where are these among them, tell me, the things for which you are now puffed up and think great thoughts? What dream is so insubstantial? What phantoms of sleep are like these? What shadow is so
Chapter 1205
1205PG 44:1205a–1205b
ἀδρανὴς σκιά τὴν ἀφὴν ὐποφεύγουσα, ὡς τὸ τῆς, νεότητος δναρ ὁμοῦ τε φαινόμενον κα) εὐθὺς παρα ιπτάμενον; Ταῦτά μοι πρὸς τοὺς ἐν νεότητι διὰ τὸ ἀτελὲς τῆς ἡλικίας ἀφραίνοντας. Τί δʼ ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ τῶν ήδη καθεστηκότων, οἷς ἡ μὲν ἡλικία βέβηκεν, ἀστατεί δὲ τὸ ἦθος, καὶ η νόσος τῆς ὑπερηφανίας αὔξεται· ὄνομα δὲ τῇ τοιαύτῃ ἀρρωστίᾳ τοῦ ἤθους φρόνημα τίθενται ’ ἀρχὴ δὲ ὡς έπιτοπολὺ καὶ ἡ κατʼ αὐτὴν δυναστεία, ἡ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ὑπόθεσις γίνεται. Ἣ γάρ ὲν αὐτῇ τοῦτο πάσχουσιν, ἢ πρὸς αὐτὴν ὲτοιμάζονται, ἢ τὶι περὶ αὐτῆς διηγήματα καὶ παυσαμένην ήδη πολλάκις ἀναῤῥιπίζει τὴν νόσον. Καὶ τίς λόγος τοιοῦτος, ὡς ἐντὸς γενέσθαι τῆς ἀκοῆς αὐτῶν, τῆς ὑπὸ τῆς φωνῆς τῶν κηρύκων προόεβυσμένηςς Τίς πείσει τοὺς οὕτως ἔχοντας, ὅτι τῶν ἐπὶ σὲιηνῆξ πομπευόντων οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν- διαφέρουσι; Kal. γὰρ ἐκείνοις καὶ πρόσωπόν τι ἐκ τέχνης τῶν γλαφυρῶν ἐπιβέβληται, καὶ ἁλουργὶς χρυσόπαστος, καὶ ἐπὶ ἅρματος ή πομπὴ, καὶ ὅμως οὐδεμία νόσος αὐτοῖς ὑπερηφανίας ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων εἰσέρχεται ο ἀλλʼ οἷοι προ τῆς σκηνῆς ἦσαν τὸ φρόνημα, ίσην ἐπὶ τῇ ψυχῇ τὴν ἕξιν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς πομπῆς διεσώσαντο, καὶ μετά τοῦτο οὐκ ἀνιῶνται. τοῦ τε ἅρματος ἀπὸἀντες, καὶ τὸ σχῆμα περιαιρούμενοι. Ol δὲ διὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς πομπεύοντες ὲν τῇ τοῦ βίου σκηνῇ, οὔτε τὸ πρὸ βραχέος, οὔτε τὺ μετά βραχὺ λογιζόμενοι, καθάπερ τῷ φυσήματι αί πομφόλυγες περιτείνονται ο τὸν αὑτὸν τρόπον καὶ οὗτοι περιογκοῦνται τῇ μεγαλοφωνίᾳ τοῦ κήρυκος, καὶ ἀλλοτρίου τινὸς προσωπείου μορτὴν έαυτοῖς περιπλάσσουσιν, ἐξαλλάσσοντες τὴν κατά φύσιν τοῦ προσώπου θέσιν είς τὸ ἀμειδὲς καλ ὲπίφοβον, φθόγγος τε αὐτοῖς ἐπινοεῖται τραχύτερος, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀκουόντων κατάπληξιν ἐπὶ τὸ θηριῶδες μετατυπούμενος · οὐκέτι ὲν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις μένουσιν ὅροις, ἀλλʼ είς τὴν θείαν δύναμιν τε καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἑαυτοὺς εἰσποιοῦσιν, Ζωῆς γὰρ καὶ θανάτου κύριοι εἶναι πιστεύουσιν, ὅτι τῶν ὲν αὐτοῖς κρινομένων τῷ μὲν τὴν σώζουσαν νέμουσι ψῆφον, τὸν δὲ Θανάτῳ καταδικάζουσι· καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτο βλέπουσι. τίς ἀληθῶς τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς κύριος, ὁ καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τὸ τέλος ὁρίζωνο καίτοι γε τοῦτο μόνον ἱκανὸν ἦν είς καταστολὴν τῆς χαυνότητος, τὸ πολλοὺς ἰδεῖν τῶν ἀρχόντων ὲν αὐτῇ τῇ τῆς ἀρχῆς σκηνῇ ὲκ μέσων ἁρπασθέντας τῶν θρόνων, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς τάφους ὲκκομισθέντας, ἐφʼ ὧν ὁ θρῆνος τὰς τῶν κηρύ κων φωνὰς διεδέξατο. Πῶς οὖν-ἀλλος ρίας ζωῆς κύριος ὁ τῆς ἰδίας ἀλλάτριος; Καὶ οὗτος τοίνυν εἱ πτωχεύει τῷ πνεύματι, πρὸς τὸν διʼ ἡμᾶς πτωχεύσαντα ἑκουσίως βλέπων, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὁμότιμον καθορῶν, μηδὲν ὲκ τῆς ἡπατημένης ἐκείνης περὶ ἀρχὴν τραγῳδίας εἰς τὸ ὁμογενὲς ἐξυβρίζοι, μακαριστὸς ἀληθῶς τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης τῆς προσκαίρου, τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν ἀνταλλαξάμενος. Μὴ ἁποβἀλης, ἀδελφὲ,
adranēs skia tēn aphēn ypopheugousa, hōs to tēs, neotētos dnar homou te phainomenon ka) euthys para iptamenon? Tauta moi pros tous en neotēti dia to ateles tēs hēlikias aphrainontas. Ti dʼ an tis eipoi peri tōn ēdē kathestēkotōn, hois hē men hēlikia bebēken, astatei de to ēthos, kai ē nosos tēs hyperēphanias auxetai; onoma de tę̄ toiautę̄ arrōstią tou ēthous phronēma tithentai ’ archē de hōs epitopoly kai hē katʼ autēn dynasteia, hē tēs hyperēphanias hypothesis ginetai. Hē gar en autę̄ touto paschousin, ē pros autēn etoimazontai, ē tii peri autēs diēgēmata kai pausamenēn ēdē pollakis anarrhipizei tēn noson. Kai tis logos toioutos, hōs entos genesthai tēs akoēs autōn, tēs hypo tēs phōnēs tōn kērykōn prooebysmenēss Tis peisei tous houtōs echontas, hoti tōn epi seiēnēx pompeuontōn oudʼ hotioun- diapherousi? Kal. gar ekeinois kai prosōpon ti ek technēs tōn glaphyrōn epibeblētai, kai halourgis chrysopastos, kai epi harmatos ē pompē, kai homōs oudemia nosos autois hyperēphanias ek tōn toioutōn eiserchetai o allʼ hoioi pro tēs skēnēs ēsan to phronēma, isēn epi tę̄ psychę̄ tēn hexin kai epi tēs pompēs diesōsanto, kai meta touto ouk aniōntai. tou te harmatos apoantes, kai to schēma periairoumenoi. Ol de dia tēs archēs pompeuontes en tę̄ tou biou skēnę̄, oute to pro bracheos, oute ty meta brachy logizomenoi, kathaper tǭ physēmati ai pompholyges periteinontai o ton hauton tropon kai houtoi perionkountai tę̄ megalophōnią tou kērykos, kai allotriou tinos prosōpeiou mortēn eautois periplassousin, exallassontes tēn kata physin tou prosōpou thesin eis to ameides kal epiphobon, phthongos te autois epinoeitai trachyteros, pros tēn tōn akouontōn kataplēxin epi to thēriōdes metatypoumenos ; ouketi en tois anthrōpinois menousin horois, allʼ eis tēn theian dynamin te kai exousian heautous eispoiousin, Zōēs gar kai thanatou kyrioi einai pisteuousin, hoti tōn en autois krinomenōn tǭ men tēn sōzousan nemousi psēphon, ton de Thanatǭ katadikazousi; kai oude touto blepousi. tis alēthōs tēs anthrōpinēs zōēs kyrios, ho kai tēn archēn tou einai kai to telos horizōno kaitoi ge touto monon hikanon ēn eis katastolēn tēs chaunotētos, to pollous idein tōn archontōn en autę̄ tę̄ tēs archēs skēnę̄ ek mesōn harpasthentas tōn thronōn, kai epi tous taphous ekkomisthentas, ephʼ hōn ho thrēnos tas tōn kēry kōn phōnas diedexato. Pōs oun-allos rias zōēs kyrios ho tēs idias allatrios? Kai houtos toinyn hei ptōcheuei tǭ pneumati, pros ton diʼ hēmas ptōcheusanta hekousiōs blepōn, kai pros to tēs physeōs homotimon kathorōn, mēden ek tēs hēpatēmenēs ekeinēs peri archēn tragǭdias eis to homogenes exybrizoi, makaristos alēthōs tēs tapeinophrosynēs tēs proskairou, tēn tōn ouranōn basileian antallaxamenos. Mē hapobalēs, adelphe,
feeble, slipping from the touch, as the dream of youth, which appears and at once flies past? This I say to those who are foolish in youth because of the immaturity of their age. But what could one say of those already settled in life, whose age is steady but whose character is unstable, and in whom the disease of arrogance grows? They give the name “high spirit” to such a sickness of character. Office, and the power that goes with it, is usually the occasion of arrogance. For either they suffer this while in office, or they are preparing for it, or the stories about it often fan the disease into flame again even after office has ended. What word could get inside their hearing, which the heralds’ voices have stopped up beforehand? Who will persuade those so disposed that they differ not at all from those who parade on the stage? Actors too have an artfully sculpted face put on them, a gold-spangled purple robe, and a procession on a chariot; and yet no disease of arrogance enters into them from such things. As they were in spirit before the play, so they keep the same state of soul in the procession, and afterward they are not distressed when they step down from the chariot and take off the costume. But those who parade in office on the stage of life, reckoning neither what was a little before nor what will be a little after, are puffed up like bubbles by a breath. In the same way they swell with the loud voice of the herald and mould for themselves the form of a strange mask, changing the natural set of the face into something unsmiling and fearsome; they put on a harsher voice, reshaped toward the bestial to strike terror into the hearers. They no longer stay within human limits but claim for themselves divine power and authority. For they believe themselves lords of life and death, because of those they judge they grant one a saving verdict and condemn another to death; and they do not even see who is truly lord of human life, who sets both the beginning and the end of being. Yet this alone was enough to check their vanity: to see many rulers on the very stage of office snatched from the midst of their thrones and carried out to their graves, where lament took the place of the heralds’ voices. How, then, can one who is a stranger to his own life be lord of another’s? So this man too, if he is poor in spirit, looking to the one who became poor of his own will for our sake, and seeing the equal dignity of our common nature, does no outrage to his own kind out of that deluded tragedy of office, is truly blessed, having exchanged a passing humility for the kingdom of heaven. Do not reject, brother,
Chapter 1207
1207PG 44:1208a–1208d
καὶ τὸν ἕτερον τῆς πτωχείας λόγον, ὃς τοῦ κατʼ ούρανὺν πλούτου πρόξενος γίνεται. ιΙώλησόν σου, φησι. πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ δεῦρο, ἀκολούθει μοι, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Κ πὶ γὰρ ὴ τοιαύτη πτωχεία δοκεῖ μοι μὴ ἀπᾴδειν τῆς μακαριζομένης πτωχείας. Ἰδοὺ πάντα, ὅσα εἶχοο μεν, ἀφέντες ἠκολουθήσαμέν σοι, φησὶ πρὸς τον Δεσπότην 6 μαθητής ° τι ἄρα ἔσται ήμῖν; Καὶ τίς ἡ ἀπόκρισις; Μακάριοι οὶ πτωχοί τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ,βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Βούλει νοῆσαι, τίς 6 πτωχεύων τῷ πνεύματι; '0 ἀνταλλαξάμενος τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς πλοῦτον τῆς σωματικῆς εὐπορίας, 6 διὰ τὸ πνεῦμα πτωχεύων, 6 τὸν γήϊνον πλοῦτον οἷόν τι βάρος ἀποσεισάμενος, ἵνα μετάρσιὸς τε καὶ διαέριος ἄνω φέρηται, καθώς φησιν 6 Ἀπό- 8 στολος, ἐπὶ νεφέλης σύμμετεωροπορῶν τῷ Θεῷ. Βαρύ τι χρῆμα τὸ χρυσίον ἐστὶν, βαρεῖα πᾶσα ἡ σπουδαζομένη κατὰ τὸν πλοῦτον ὕλη · κοῦφον δέ τι καὶ ἀνωφερὲς πρᾶγμα ἠ ἀρετή. Ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀντίκειται ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις, τὸ βάρος καὶ ἡ κουφότης. Οὐκοῦν ἀμήχανόν τινα γενέσθαι κοῦφον, τῷ βάρει τῆς ὕλης ἑαυτὸν προσηλώσαντα. Εἰ οὖν χρὴ τοῖς ἄνω προσβῆναι, τῶν κάτω καθελκόντων πτωχεύσωμεν, ἵνα ὲν τοῖς ἄνω γενώμεθα. Τίς δὲ. 6 τρόπος, ὑφηγεῖται ἡ ψαλμῳδίαο Ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκε τοῖς πένησιν, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει είς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. '0 τῷ πτωχῷ κοινωνήσας, εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ διʼ ἡμᾶς πτωχεύσαντος ἑαυτὸν καταστήσει. Ἐπτώχευσεν ὁ Κύριος, μὴ φοβηθῇς μηδὲ σὺ τὴν πτωχείαν. Ἀλλὰ βασιλεύει πάσης τῆς κτίσεως 6 διʼ ήμᾶς πτωχεύσας. Οὐκοῦν ἐὰν πτωχεύσαντι συμπτωχεύσῃς, καὶ βασιλεύοντι συμβασιλεύσεις. Μακάριοι γὰρ οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἠ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἦς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀξιωθείημεν ὲν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἠ δόξα ml. τὸ κράτος, είς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ B'. Μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς,ὅτι. αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι την την. Οἱ διὰ κλίμακάς τινος τοῖς ὑψηλοτέροις προσβαίνοντες, ὄταν τῆς πρώτης ὲπιβῶσι βαθμίδος, διʼ ἐκείνης ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπερκειμένην αἴρονται, καὶ πάλιν ἡ δευτέρα προσάγει τῇ τρίτῃ τὸν ἀνιόντα, καὶ αʼύτη πρὸς τὴν ἐφεξῆς, καὶ αὕτη πρὸς τὴν μεθʼ ἑαυτήν. Καὶ οὕτως 6 ἀνιὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν, ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ ὑπερκείο μενον ἀνυψούμενος, ἐπὶ τὸ ἀκρότατον φθάνει τῆς ἀναβάσεως. Πρὸς τί βλέπων ἐντεῦθεν προοιμιάζομαι; Δοκεῖ μοι βαθμίδων δίκην ἡ τῶν μακαρισμῶν διακείσθαι τάξις, εὐεπίβατον τῷ λόγῳ διʼ ἀλλήλων ποιοῦσα τὴν ἄνοδον. Τὸν γὰρ τῷ πρώτῳ διὰ τῆς διανοίας ἐπιβεβηκότα μακαρισμῷ, διʼ ἀναγκαίας τινὸς τῆς τῶν νοημάτων ἀκολουθίας, 6 μετʼ ἐκεῖνον ἐκδέχεται, κᾶν ὑποξενίςειν δοκῇ παρὰ τὴν πρώτην ὁ λόγος· Μὴ γὰρ εἶναι δυνατὸν ἴσως ὀ ἁκούων ἐρεῖ, καθάπερ ὲν βαθμῶν διαθέσει, μετὰ τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, τῆς
kai ton heteron tēs ptōcheias logon, hos tou katʼ ouranyn ploutou proxenos ginetai. iIōlēson sou, phēsi. panta ta hyparchonta, kai dos ptōchois, kai deuro, akolouthei moi, kai hexeis thēsauron en ouranois. K pi gar ē toiautē ptōcheia dokei moi mē apądein tēs makarizomenēs ptōcheias. Idou panta, hosa eichoo men, aphentes ēkolouthēsamen soi, phēsi pros ton Despotēn 6 mathētēs ° ti ara estai ēmin? Kai tis hē apokrisis? Makarioi oi ptōchoi tǭ pneumati, hoti autōn estin hē,basileia tōn ouranōn. Boulei noēsai, tis 6 ptōcheuōn tǭ pneumati? '0 antallaxamenos ton tēs psychēs plouton tēs sōmatikēs euporias, 6 dia to pneuma ptōcheuōn, 6 ton gēïnon plouton hoion ti baros aposeisamenos, hina metarsios te kai diaerios anō pherētai, kathōs phēsin 6 Apo- 8 stolos, epi nephelēs symmeteōroporōn tǭ Theǭ. Bary ti chrēma to chrysion estin, bareia pasa hē spoudazomenē kata ton plouton hylē ; kouphon de ti kai anōpheres pragma ē aretē. Alla mēn antikeitai tauta allēlois, to baros kai hē kouphotēs. Oukoun amēchanon tina genesthai kouphon, tǭ barei tēs hylēs heauton prosēlōsanta. Ei oun chrē tois anō prosbēnai, tōn katō kathelkontōn ptōcheusōmen, hina en tois anō genōmetha. Tis de. 6 tropos, hyphēgeitai hē psalmǭdiao Eskorpisen, edōke tois penēsin, hē dikaiosynē autou menei eis ton aiōna tou aiōnos. '0 tǭ ptōchǭ koinōnēsas, eis tēn merida tou diʼ hēmas ptōcheusantos heauton katastēsei. Eptōcheusen ho Kyrios, mē phobēthę̄s mēde sy tēn ptōcheian. Alla basileuei pasēs tēs ktiseōs 6 diʼ ēmas ptōcheusas. Oukoun ean ptōcheusanti symptōcheusę̄s, kai basileuonti symbasileuseis. Makarioi gar hoi ptōchoi tǭ pneumati, hoti autōn estin ē basileia tōn ouranōn, ēs kai hēmeis axiōtheiēmen en Christǭ Iēsou tǭ Kyriǭ hēmōn, hǭ ē doxa ml. to kratos, eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amēn. LOGOS B'. Makarioi hoi praeis,hoti. autoi klēronomēsousi tēn tēn. Hoi dia klimakas tinos tois hypsēloterois prosbainontes, otan tēs prōtēs epibōsi bathmidos, diʼ ekeinēs epi tēn hyperkeimenēn airontai, kai palin hē deutera prosagei tę̄ tritę̄ ton anionta, kai aʼytē pros tēn ephexēs, kai hautē pros tēn methʼ heautēn. Kai houtōs 6 aniōn apo tou en hǭ estin, aei pros to hyperkeio menon anypsoumenos, epi to akrotaton phthanei tēs anabaseōs. Pros ti blepōn enteuthen prooimiazomai? Dokei moi bathmidōn dikēn hē tōn makarismōn diakeisthai taxis, euepibaton tǭ logǭ diʼ allēlōn poiousa tēn anodon. Ton gar tǭ prōtǭ dia tēs dianoias epibebēkota makarismǭ, diʼ anankaias tinos tēs tōn noēmatōn akolouthias, 6 metʼ ekeinon ekdechetai, kan hypoxenisein dokę̄ para tēn prōtēn ho logos; Mē gar einai dynaton isōs o hakouōn erei, kathaper en bathmōn diathesei, meta tēn tōn ouranōn basileian, tēs
the other saying about poverty, which secures the wealth of heaven: “Sell,” he says, “all that you have and give to the poor, and come, follow me, and you will have treasure in heaven.” For this kind of poverty too seems to me not out of tune with the poverty called blessed. “Look, we have left everything we had and followed you,” the disciple says to the Master; “what, then, will there be for us?” And what is the answer? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Do you want to understand who is poor in spirit? The one who has exchanged bodily abundance for the wealth of the soul; who is poor for the sake of the spirit; who has shaken off earthly wealth like a burden, so that he may be carried upward, aloft and through the air, journeying on high in a cloud with God, as the Apostle says. Gold is a heavy thing; heavy is all the matter that is pursued for wealth; but virtue is a light and upward-tending thing. Now weight and lightness are opposed to each other; so it is impossible for one who has nailed himself to the weight of matter to become light. If, then, we must approach the things above, let us become poor in what drags us down, so that we may come to be among the things above. The manner of it the Psalm teaches: “He scattered, he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever and ever.” Whoever shares with the poor will place himself in the portion of the one who became poor for our sake. The Lord became poor; do not you fear poverty either. But the one who became poor for us reigns over all creation; so if you become poor with the one who became poor, you will also reign with the one who reigns. For “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” of which may we too be deemed worthy in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 2. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Those who climb to higher places by a ladder, when they have set foot on the first rung, are lifted by it to the one above; the second brings the climber to the third, that to the next, and that to the one after it. So the climber, always rising from where he is to what lies above, reaches the very top of the ascent. What have I in view in beginning this way? It seems to me that the order of the Beatitudes is arranged like rungs, making the ascent easy for the mind, one by means of another. For whoever has mounted the first beatitude in thought is received by the next through a necessary sequence of meanings, even if the saying seems at first somewhat strange. For the hearer will perhaps say that it is impossible, as in an arrangement of steps, that after the kingdom of heaven
Chapter 1209
1209PG 44:1209a–1209c
γῆς τὴν κληρονομίαν καταλαμβάνεσθαι · ἀλλʼ εἴπερ ἔδει τῇ φύσει τῶν ὄντων τὸν λόγον ἕπεσθαι, τοῦ οὐ· ρανοῧ τὴν γῆν ἀκολουθότερον ἦν προτετάχθαι, ὼς ἐντεῦθεν ἡμῖν ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνον ἐσομένης τῆς ἀναβάσεως. Ἀλλʼ εἰ πτερωθείημέν πως τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ νῶτα τῆς οὐρανίας ἀψίδος σταίημεν, εὑρήσομεν ἐκεῖ τὴν ὑπερουράνιον γῆν, τὴν εἰς κληρονομίαν τοίς κατʼ ἀρετὴν βεβιωκόσιν ἀποκειμένην, ὡς μὴ δοκεῖν ἡμαρτῆσθαιτὴν τάξιν τῆς τῶν μακαρισμῶν ἀκολουθίας, πρῶτον οὐρανῶν, καὶ μετά ταῦτα γῆς, ἐν ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ προτεθείσης. Τὸ γάρ φαινόμενον, ὅσον πρὸς τὴν σωματικὴν αἴσθησιν, ὅλον πρὸς ἐαυτὸ συγγενῶς ἔχει. Κᾶν γάρ ὃ μὲν ὑψηλὸν εἶναι δοκῇ τῷ τοπικῷ διαστήματι, ἀλλʼ οὖν κάτω τῆς νοερᾶς οὐσίας ἐστὶν, ἦς ἀδύνατον ἐπιβατεὼαι τὸν λογισμὸν, μὴ διαβάντα τῷ λόγῳ ταῦτα πρότερον, ῶν καθικνεῖται ἡ αίσθησις. El δὲ τῇ προσηγορίᾳ τῆς γῆς ὴ ὑπερκειμένη κατονομάζεται λῆξις, θαυμάσεις μηδέν· τῷ γὰρ ταπεινῷ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀκοῆς συγκαταβαίνει ὁ Λόγος, ὁ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς ἡμᾶς καταβάς, ἐπειδὴ ἡμεῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνυψωθῆναι οὐχ οἷοί τε ἦμεν. Διά τοίνυν τῶν ἡμῖν γνωρίμων ῥημάτων τε καὶ ὀνομάτων παραδίδωσι τά θεῖα μυστήρια, ταύταις ταῖς φωναῖς κεχρημένος, ἂς ἡ συνήθεια τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου περιέχει βίου. Καὶ γάρ τῇ πρὸ ταύτης ἐπαγγελίᾳ τὸν ἄφραστον ἐκεῖνον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς μακαρισμὸν, βασιλείαν ὠνόμασεν· ἆρά τι τοίοῢτον τῷ λόγῳ παραδεικνύων, οἷον ἡ κάτω περιέχει βασιλείας διαδήματά τινα ταῖς τῶν λίθων αῖγλαις περιαστράπτοντα, καὶ εὐανθεῖς ἁλουργίδας ἡδύ τι τοῖς λίχνοις ὄμμασιν ἀωυγαζοὺσας, προπύλαιά τε καί καταπετάσματα, καὶ ὑψηλοὺς θρόνους, καὶ δορυφόρων στοιχηδὸν περιεστώτων τάξεις, καὶ ὃσα ἄλλα προστραγτρδοῦσι περὶ τὴν τοιαύτην τοῦ βίου σκηνὴν οἱ τὸν ὄγκον τῆς δυναστείας διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον ἐξαίροντες. Ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ μέγα τι καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα σχεδὸν τά ἐν ἀνθρώποις ζηλούμενα τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ὄνομα κατά τὸν βίον ἐστὶν. διὰ τοῦτο συνεχρήσατο τῷ ὀνόματι, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἀγαθῶν δήλωσινο ὡς είγε ἦν ἄλλο τι παρά τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τῆς βασιλείας ἀνώτερον, διʼ ἐκείνου ἂν τοῦ ὀνόματος πάντως μάλιστα ἀνεπτέρωσε ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀκούοντος, πρὸς ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς ἀφράστου μακαριότητος. Οὐδὲ γάρ ἦν δυνατὸν ἰδίοις ὀνόμασιν ἐκεῖνα τά ἀγαθά τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐκκαλυφθῆναι, ά ὑπὲρ αῐσθησίν τε καὶ γνῶσιν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐστίν. Οὔτε γὰρ οφθαλμὸς εἶδε, φησὶν, οὔτε οὖς ἤκουσεν, οὔτε ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη. Ἀλλʼ ὡς ἂν μὴ παντελῶς διαφύγοι τὸν στοχασμὸν ἡ ὲλπιζομένη μακαριότης, ὡς χωροῦμεν κατά τὸ ταπεινὸν ἡμῶν τῆς φύσεως, οὕτω τῶν ἀνεκφωνήτων ἀκούομεν. Μὴ οὑν ἡ τῆς γῆς ὁμωνυμία πάλιν μετά τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καθκ ελκέτω σου τὴν διάνοιαν ἐπὶ τὴν κάτω γῆν, ἀλλʼ εἴπερ ὑψώθης τῷ Λόγῳ διά τῶν προτέρων μακαρισμῶν, καὶ τῆς οὐρανίας ἐπέβης ἐλπίδος, ἐκείνην μοι πολυπραγμόνει τὴν γῆν, ἥτις οὐ πάντων ἐστὶ κληρονομία, πλὴν ετ τινες διὰ τῆς τοῦ βίου πραότη-
gēs tēn klēronomian katalambanesthai ; allʼ eiper edei tę̄ physei tōn ontōn ton logon hepesthai, tou ou; ranoÿ tēn gēn akolouthoteron ēn protetachthai, ōs enteuthen hēmin epʼ ekeinon esomenēs tēs anabaseōs. Allʼ ei pterōtheiēmen pōs tǭ logǭ, kai hyper ta nōta tēs ouranias apsidos staiēmen, heurēsomen ekei tēn hyperouranion gēn, tēn eis klēronomian tois katʼ aretēn bebiōkosin apokeimenēn, hōs mē dokein hēmartēsthaitēn taxin tēs tōn makarismōn akolouthias, prōton ouranōn, kai meta tauta gēs, en tais epangeliais hēmin para tou Theou protetheisēs. To gar phainomenon, hoson pros tēn sōmatikēn aisthēsin, holon pros eauto syngenōs echei. Kan gar ho men hypsēlon einai dokę̄ tǭ topikǭ diastēmati, allʼ oun katō tēs noeras ousias estin, ēs adynaton epibateōai ton logismon, mē diabanta tǭ logǭ tauta proteron, ōn kathikneitai hē aisthēsis. El de tę̄ prosēgorią tēs gēs ē hyperkeimenē katonomazetai lēxis, thaumaseis mēden; tǭ gar tapeinǭ tēs hēmeteras akoēs synkatabainei ho Logos, ho dia touto pros hēmas katabas, epeidē hēmeis pros auton anypsōthēnai ouch hoioi te ēmen. Dia toinyn tōn hēmin gnōrimōn rhēmatōn te kai onomatōn paradidōsi ta theia mystēria, tautais tais phōnais kechrēmenos, as hē synētheia tou anthrōpinou periechei biou. Kai gar tę̄ pro tautēs epangelią ton aphraston ekeinon en tois ouranois makarismon, basileian ōnomasen; ara ti toioÿton tǭ logǭ paradeiknyōn, hoion hē katō periechei basileias diadēmata tina tais tōn lithōn aiglais periastraptonta, kai euantheis halourgidas hēdy ti tois lichnois ommasin aōygazousas, propylaia te kai katapetasmata, kai hypsēlous thronous, kai doryphorōn stoichēdon periestōtōn taxeis, kai hosa alla prostragtrdousi peri tēn toiautēn tou biou skēnēn hoi ton onkon tēs dynasteias dia tōn toioutōn epi to meizon exairontes. Allʼ epeidē mega ti kai hyper panta schedon ta en anthrōpois zēloumena to tēs basileias onoma kata ton bion estin. dia touto synechrēsato tǭ onomati, pros tēn tōn hyperkeimenōn agathōn dēlōsino hōs eige ēn allo ti para tois anthrōpois tēs basileias anōteron, diʼ ekeinou an tou onomatos pantōs malista anepterōse psychēn tou akouontos, pros epithymian tēs aphrastou makariotētos. Oude gar ēn dynaton idiois onomasin ekeina ta agatha tois anthrōpois ekkalyphthēnai, a hyper aisthēsin te kai gnōsin anthrōpinēn estin. Oute gar ophthalmos eide, phēsin, oute ous ēkousen, oute epi kardian anthrōpou anebē. Allʼ hōs an mē pantelōs diaphygoi ton stochasmon hē elpizomenē makariotēs, hōs chōroumen kata to tapeinon hēmōn tēs physeōs, houtō tōn anekphōnētōn akouomen. Mē houn hē tēs gēs homōnymia palin meta tous ouranous kathk elketō sou tēn dianoian epi tēn katō gēn, allʼ eiper hypsōthēs tǭ Logǭ dia tōn proterōn makarismōn, kai tēs ouranias epebēs elpidos, ekeinēn moi polypragmonei tēn gēn, hētis ou pantōn esti klēronomia, plēn et tines dia tēs tou biou praotē-
the inheritance of the earth should be attained. If the saying had to follow the nature of things, it would have been more consistent for the earth to be placed before heaven, since our ascent would be from here to there. But if we were somehow given wings by reason and stood above the back of the heavenly vault, we would find there the earth above the heavens, laid up as an inheritance for those who have lived according to virtue; so that the order of the sequence of the Beatitudes would not seem mistaken, when God sets before us in his promises first the heavens and after them the earth. For what appears, so far as bodily sense is concerned, is wholly of one kind with itself; even if one part seems high in spatial distance, it is still below the intelligible being, on which reason cannot set foot without first passing beyond, in thought, the things that sense reaches. If the lot that lies beyond is called by the name of “earth,” do not be surprised. The Word condescends to the lowliness of our hearing — he who came down to us for this very reason, since we were not able to be raised up to him. So he hands on the divine mysteries through words and names familiar to us, using the expressions that the custom of human life contains. In the promise before this one he named that ineffable blessedness in the heavens a kingdom. Was he pointing in that word to the sort of thing that a kingdom here below contains — diadems flashing with the gleam of precious stones, bright purple robes shining with something sweet to greedy eyes, porches and curtains, lofty thrones, ranks of bodyguards standing in rows, and whatever else those who magnify the bulk of power by such means stage in this theatre of life? No; but since the name of kingship is great in life and above almost everything that people envy, he used this name to indicate the transcendent goods; so that if there were anything among human beings higher than kingship, he would surely have used that name above all to give wings to the hearer’s soul toward desire for the ineffable blessedness. For it was not possible for those goods, which are beyond human sense and knowledge, to be revealed to human beings by their own names. “For eye has not seen,” it says, “nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man.” But so that the blessedness we hope for may not wholly escape our conjecture, we hear of things that cannot be spoken in the measure that the lowliness of our nature can contain. So do not let the same word “earth,” coming after the heavens, drag your mind down again to the earth below. If you have been raised by the Word through the earlier beatitudes and have set foot on the heavenly hope, consider for me that earth which is not the inheritance of all, but only of those who through the meekness of their life
Chapter 1211
1211PG 44:1212a–1212d
Α τος ἄξιοι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐκείνης κρίνονταιο ην μα δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ μέγας Δαβὶδ, 6 παρᾶ πάντας τοὺς κατʼ αὑτὸν ἐπιδεδημηκότας τῷ βίῳ πραΰς τε καὶ ἀνεξίκακος μαρτυρηθεις ὑπὸτῆς θείας Γ ραφῆς, πῳνενοησ κέναι τῇ ὑφηγήσει τοῦ Πνεύματος, καὶ διὰ πίστεως ἥδη κατεσχηκέναι τὸ ἐλπιζόμενον, εἰπών · Πιστεύω τοῦ ἰδεῖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ Κυρίου ἐν τῇ ζώντων. Οὐ γάρ φημι τὸν Προφήτην, ταύτην ζώντων προσειρηκένιι τὴν γῆν τὰ θνητὰ πάντα φύουσαν, καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν πάλιν πᾶν τὸ ἐξ αὐτῆς γένος ἀναλύουσαν ἀλλʼ οἶδε γῆν ζώντων, ἧς οὐκ ἐπέβη Θάνατος · ἐν ὁδὸς ἁμερτωλῶν οὐκ ἐτρίβη, ἢ κακίας ἴχνος ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς οὐκ ἐδέξατο, ἦν οὐκ ἀνέτεμε τῷ ἀρότρῳ τῆς πονηρίας 6 τὰ ζιζάνια σπείρων, ή τριβόλων καὶ ἀκανθῶν ἄγονος · ἐν ᾖ τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ 6 τῆς Β χλόης τόπος, καὶ ἡ τετραχῆ μεριζομένη πηγὴ, καὶ ἠ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων γεωργουμένη ἄμπελος, nl ὅσα ἄλλα διʼ αἰνιγμάτων παρὰ τῆς θεοπνεύστου διδασκαλίας ἀκούομεν. Ei δὴ νενόηται ἡμῖν η owe, γῆ ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν θεωρουμένης ἐφʼ ἦςή fit”λις τοῦ βασιλέως συνῴκισται, περὶ ἧς τά δεδοξασμένα ἐλαλήθη, καθώς φησιν 6 Προφήτης, οὐκέτʼᾶν εἰκότως πρὸς τὴν τάξιν τῆς ἀκολουθίας τῶν μακαρισμῶν ξενιζοίμεθα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰκὸς ἦν, οἶμαι, ταύτην εὐλογίας προκεῖσθαι ταῖς ἐλπίσι τὴν γῆν τοῖς ἁρπαγησομένοις, καθὼς φησιν 6 Ἀπόστολος, ἐν νεφέλαις είς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα, καὶ οὕτως λουσι πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἔσεσθαι. Τίς οὗν ἔτι χρεία τῆς κάτω γῆς, οἷς ἡ ζωὴ μετάρσιος ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἐστιν; 'A ρποιγη σόμεθα γὰρ ἐν νεφέλαις εἰς ἁπάντη σιν τοῦ Κν- C ρίου εἰς ἀέρα, καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα- Ἀλλʼ ἴδωμεν τίνος ἀρετῆς γέρας ἡ ἐκείνης τῆς γῆς κληρονομία πρόκειται. Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν- Τί τὸ πρᾶονς καὶ περὶ τί τὸ πρᾶον μακαρίζει 6 Δόγος; ού γάρ μοι δοκεῖ πάντα ἐπίσης ἀρετὴν οἴεσθαι δεῖν, ὅσα ἂν ἐν πραότητι γίνεται,,εἰ τὸ ἠρεμαῖὸν τε καὶ βραδυ μόνον διὰ τῆς λέξεως ταύτης σημαίνοιτο. Οὔτε γάρ,ἐν δρομεῦσιν 6 πρᾶος ἀμείνων τοῦ ἐπισπεύδοντος, οὔτε 6 δυσκίνητος ἐν πυκτικῇ τὸν κατὰ τοῦ ἐναντίου στέφανον αἴρεταιʼ κᾶν τρέχωμεν πρδς ι) τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως, ἐπιτείνειν 6 Παῦλθς συμβουλεύει τὸ τάχος, λέγων· Οὕτω τρέχετε, ira καταλάβητε· ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς διὰ σφοδροτέρας ἀεὶ τῆς κινήσεως τοῦ πρόσω εἴχετο, τῶν ὀπίσω λήθην ποιούμενος · καὶ πυκτεύων εὐκίνητος ἦν ’ διεὼρα γὰρ τοῦ ἀνθεστῶτος τὴν προσβολήν ’ καὶ περὶ τὴν βάσιγ ἀσφαλὴς ἦν, καὶ ψῖςχερσὶ καθωπλισμένος, ού κατά κενοῦ τινος καὶ ἁνυποστάτου διερρίπτει τὺ περὶ τᾶς χεῖρας ὅπλον, ἀλλὰ τῶν καιρίων τοῦ προσπαλαίοντες ἥπτετο, κατʼ αὑτοῦ τοῦ σώματος τὰς πληγὰς φέρωγ· Βούλει γνῶναι τοῦ Παύλου τὴν πυκτικήν; Ἴδε 11:? ὠτειλὰς τοῦ ἀνταγωνιζομένου, ἴδε τὰ ὑπώπια του ἀντιπάλου, ἴδε τὰ στίγματα τοῦ ἡττηθέντος Πάντως
A tos axioi tēs epangelias ekeinēs krinontaio ēn ma dokei kai ho megas Dabid, 6 para pantas tous katʼ hauton epidedēmēkotas tǭ biǭ praÿs te kai anexikakos martyrētheis hypotēs theias G raphēs, pǭnenoēs kenai tę̄ hyphēgēsei tou Pneumatos, kai dia pisteōs hēdē kateschēkenai to elpizomenon, eipōn ; Pisteuō tou idein ta agatha Kyriou en tę̄ zōntōn. Ou gar phēmi ton Prophētēn, tautēn zōntōn proseirēkenii tēn gēn ta thnēta panta phyousan, kai eis heautēn palin pan to ex autēs genos analyousan allʼ oide gēn zōntōn, hēs ouk epebē Thanatos ; en hodos hamertōlōn ouk etribē, ē kakias ichnos ephʼ heautēs ouk edexato, ēn ouk aneteme tǭ arotrǭ tēs ponērias 6 ta zizania speirōn, ē tribolōn kai akanthōn agonos ; en ę̄ to hydōr tēs anapauseōs, kai 6 tēs B chloēs topos, kai hē tetrachē merizomenē pēgē, kai ē para tou Theou tōn holōn geōrgoumenē ampelos, nl hosa alla diʼ ainigmatōn para tēs theopneustou didaskalias akouomen. Ei dē nenoētai hēmin ē owe, gē hyperanō tōn ouranōn theōroumenēs ephʼ ēsē fit”lis tou basileōs synǭkistai, peri hēs ta dedoxasmena elalēthē, kathōs phēsin 6 Prophētēs, ouketʼan eikotōs pros tēn taxin tēs akolouthias tōn makarismōn xenizoimetha. Oude gar eikos ēn, oimai, tautēn eulogias prokeisthai tais elpisi tēn gēn tois harpagēsomenois, kathōs phēsin 6 Apostolos, en nephelais eis apantēsin tou Kyriou eis aera, kai houtōs lousi pantote syn Kyriǭ esesthai. Tis houn eti chreia tēs katō gēs, hois hē zōē metarsios en elpisin estin? 'A rpoigē sometha gar en nephelais eis hapantē sin tou Kn- C riou eis aera, kai houtōs pantote syn Kyriǭ esometha- Allʼ idōmen tinos aretēs geras hē ekeinēs tēs gēs klēronomia prokeitai. Makarioi gar, phēsin, hoi praeis, hoti autoi klēronomēsousi tēn gēn- Ti to praons kai peri ti to praon makarizei 6 Dogos? ou gar moi dokei panta episēs aretēn oiesthai dein, hosa an en praotēti ginetai,,ei to ēremaion te kai brady monon dia tēs lexeōs tautēs sēmainoito. Oute gar,en dromeusin 6 praos ameinōn tou epispeudontos, oute 6 dyskinētos en pyktikę̄ ton kata tou enantiou stephanon airetaiʼ kan trechōmen prds i) to brabeion tēs anō klēseōs, epiteinein 6 Paulths symbouleuei to tachos, legōn; Houtō trechete, ira katalabēte; epei kai autos dia sphodroteras aei tēs kinēseōs tou prosō eicheto, tōn opisō lēthēn poioumenos ; kai pykteuōn eukinētos ēn ’ dieōra gar tou anthestōtos tēn prosbolēn ’ kai peri tēn basig asphalēs ēn, kai psischersi kathōplismenos, ou kata kenou tinos kai hanypostatou dierriptei ty peri tas cheiras hoplon, alla tōn kairiōn tou prospalaiontes hēpteto, katʼ hautou tou sōmatos tas plēgas pherōg; Boulei gnōnai tou Paulou tēn pyktikēn? Ide 11:? ōteilas tou antagōnizomenou, ide ta hypōpia tou antipalou, ide ta stigmata tou hēttēthentos Pantōs
are judged worthy of that promise. It seems that the great David too had understood this by the guidance of the Spirit — he whom divine Scripture attests as meek and forbearing beyond all who lived in his time — and had already held by faith what he hoped for, when he said, “I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” For I say that the Prophet did not call this earth the land of the living, which brings forth all mortal things and dissolves again into itself every race that comes from it. He knows a land of the living on which death has never set foot; in which the way of sinners has not been trodden; which has received no trace of vice upon itself; which the sower of weeds has not furrowed with the plough of wickedness; which bears no thorns and thistles; in which are the water of rest and the place of green pasture, and the spring divided in four, and the vine tended by the God of all, and whatever else we hear in riddles from the divinely inspired teaching. If, then, we have understood the earth that is seen above the heavens, on which the city of the king is settled, of which glorious things are spoken, as the Prophet says, we would no longer have reason to be surprised at the order in which the Beatitudes follow one another. For it would not have been fitting, I think, for this earth to be held out as the hope of blessing to those who will be caught up, as the Apostle says, in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so will always be with the Lord. What further need of the earth below have those whose life is lifted aloft in hope? For “we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” But let us see of what virtue the inheritance of that earth is set as the prize. For “blessed,” he says, “are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” What is meekness, and in what respect does the Word bless the meek? It does not seem to me that everything done gently must equally be thought a virtue, if this word signifies only calmness and slowness. Among runners the gentle one is not better than the one who hurries, nor does the sluggish boxer carry off the crown from his opponent; and when we run for the prize of the upward call, Paul advises us to increase our speed, saying, “Run so that you may win.” He himself always pressed forward with ever more vigorous motion, forgetting what lay behind; and in boxing he was nimble, for he watched for his opponent’s attack, was secure in his footing, and, armed in his hands, did not throw the weapons of his hands at something empty and insubstantial, but reached his opponent’s vital parts, landing his blows on the very body. Do you want to know Paul’s boxing? Look at the wounds of the one he fought, look at the bruises of his adversary, look at the marks of the defeated. Surely
Chapter 1213
1213PG 44:1213a–1213d
δὲ οὑκ ἀγνοεῖς τὸν ἀντίπαλον τὸν διὰ τῆς σαρκὸς προσπαλαίοντα, ὃν ὑπωπιάζει διὰ τῆς πυκτικῆς, ἀμύσσων τοῖς ὄνυξι τῆς ἐγκρατείας, οὑ νεκροί τὰ μέλη λιμῷ, καὶ δίψει, καὶ ψύχει, καὶ γυμνότητι, ᾧ τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Κυρίου ἐπιβάλλει, ὃν νικᾷ διὰ τοῦ δρόμου κατόπιν ἑαυτοῦ καταλιπὼν, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἐπισκοτοίτο τὰς ὄψεις τοῦ ἀντιπάλου προτρέχοντος. Ei οὑν ὀξὺς καὶ εὐκίνητος ὲν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν 6 Παῦλος, καὶ 6 Δαβὶδ πλατύνει τὰ διαδήματα τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐπιτρέχων, καὶΙ 6 νυμφίος ὲν τῷ ᾊσματι δορκάδι κατὰ τὸ εὑκίνητον ὁμοιοῦται, ὄρη διαπηδῶν, καὶ βουνοῖς ἐφαλλόμενος (καὶ πολλά τοιαῦτα ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, ἐν οἷς προτιμότερον εὑρίσκεται τῆς πραότητος τὸ κατὰ τὴν κίνησιν τάχος) πῶς ἐνταῦθα ὲν κατορθώματος εῖδει μακαρίζει τὺ πρᾶον ὁ Λόγος; Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην πάντως τὴν γῆν τὴν τῶν καλῶν εὔφορον γεννημάτων, τὴν τῷ ξύλῳ τῆς ζωῆς κομῶσαν θ τὴν ταῖς πηγαῖς τῶν πνευματικῶν χαρισμάτων κατάρρυτον, ἐφʼ ἦς ἠ ἄμπελος ή ἀληθινὴ βλαστάνει, ἧς γεωργὸν τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Κυρίου ἀκούομεν.
de houk agnoeis ton antipalon ton dia tēs sarkos prospalaionta, hon hypōpiazei dia tēs pyktikēs, amyssōn tois onyxi tēs enkrateias, hou nekroi ta melē limǭ, kai dipsei, kai psychei, kai gymnotēti, hǭ ta stigmata tou Kyriou epiballei, hon niką dia tou dromou katopin heautou katalipōn, hōs an mē episkotoito tas opseis tou antipalou protrechontos. Ei houn oxys kai eukinētos en tois agōsin 6 Paulos, kai 6 Dabid platynei ta diadēmata tois echthrois epitrechōn, kaiI 6 nymphios en tǭ Ąsmati dorkadi kata to heukinēton homoioutai, orē diapēdōn, kai bounois ephallomenos (kai polla toiauta estin eipein, en hois protimoteron heurisketai tēs praotētos to kata tēn kinēsin tachos) pōs entautha en katorthōmatos eidei makarizei ty praon ho Logos? Makarioi gar, phēsin, hoi praeis, hoti autoi klēronomēsousi tēn gēn ekeinēn pantōs tēn gēn tēn tōn kalōn euphoron gennēmatōn, tēn tǭ xylǭ tēs zōēs komōsan th tēn tais pēgais tōn pneumatikōn charismatōn katarryton, ephʼ ēs ē ampelos ē alēthinē blastanei, hēs geōrgon ton Patera tou Kyriou akouomen.
you know the adversary who wrestles through the flesh, whom Paul beats black and blue by his boxing, tearing him with the nails of self-control, whose limbs he puts to death with hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness, on whom he stamps the marks of the Lord, whom he conquers in the race by leaving him behind, so that his eyes may not be darkened by the adversary running ahead of him. If, then, Paul is sharp and nimble in the contests, and David lengthens his strides as he runs against his enemies, and the bridegroom in the Song is likened to a gazelle for his nimbleness, leaping over mountains and bounding over hills — and many such things could be mentioned in which speed of movement is found preferable to gentleness — how does the Word here bless gentleness as a form of achievement? For “blessed,” he says, “are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” — surely that earth fruitful in good produce, luxuriant with the tree of life, watered by the springs of spiritual gifts, on which the true vine grows, whose vinedresser, we hear, is the Father of the Lord.
Chapter 1215
1215PG 44:1216a–1216d
\‘tiqv ὁρμὴν πρὸς τὴν ἐκπλήρωσιν τοῦ θελήματι, (βαρεῖα γὰρ καὶ κατωφερὴς ἡῦλη) · διὰτοῦτοψραια· ρίζει ὁ Κύριος, οὐ τοὺς ἔξω πάθους ἐφʼ εαυτῶν βιοτεύοντας (οὐ γὰρ δυνατόν ἐστιν ὲν ὑλώδει ζωῇ τὸν iiλον καθʼ ὅλου καὶ ἀπαθῆ κατορθωθῆναι βίον),άλλὰ ab ἐνδεχόμενον τῆς ἀρετῆς ὅρον ὲν τῇ διά σαρκὸς Qui τὴν πραὸτὴτα λέγει, καὶ ἱκανὸνείς pauc-aptan τὶ πέδον* εἶναί φησιν. Οὐ γὰρ καθόλου τὴν ἀττάθειπε νομοθετεῖ τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ’ οὐδὲ γάρ faxsit: νομοθέτου τὸ ταῦτα κελεύειν, ὅσα ἡ φύσις οὐ δέχεται· σεδ-γὰρ τοιοῦτον ὅμοιόν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ Adv εξ ξιξ.τᾶ ἔνυδρα μετοικίζοι πρδς τδν “diu?” βίίξνν tib}? παλίν sia τὸ ὕδωρ, δσα τῷ ἀέρι ὲμσιοτεύειι ἀλλὰ τῇ οἰκείᾳ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν δυνάμει πρόσφορον εἶναι πρισήκει ’τὸν νόμον. Διὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέτριόν τε καῖ. Β μακαρισμὸς, οὐ τὸ παντάπασιν ἀπαθὲς ἐγκελεὺετπι· τό μὲν γὰρ ιξω τῆς φύσεως, τδ δὲ at: ἀρετῆξ κιτθρς (δεόμενον.- Εί οὖν τὸ ἀκίνητον πρὸς ἐπιθυρίανξ μακαρισμὸς ὑπετίθετο, ἀνόνητος ἂν-ἦν τερ βίῳ ἆχρηᾶτοξ εὐλογία· τίς γὰρ ἂν τοῦ καθἰκοιτο σαρκὶ καὶ αἵματι συνεζευγμένοςὶ Ν·δῇ δέ φησιν οὐ τδν ὲτξιθυμήσαντα κατά τινα συντυχίαν εἶναικατάκριτον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ὲκ προνοίας τὸ πάθος summaiμενον. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐγγενέσθαι ποτὲ τοιαύτην ὁρμὴν ἦ συγκεκραμὲνη τῇ φύσει πολλάκις adsveta?! δίκην τταρενεχθῆνναι τῇ τοῦ πάθους bell-ilo ἀῖί δρικῶς προς τὴν τοιαύτην διάθεσιν στῆναι, καὶ ττξέ λογισμοῖς ’τὸ τιάθος ἀπώσασθαι, τοῦτο τῆς ἀρετῆς ο. Μακάριοι τοίνυν οἱ μὴ ὀξῦρῤοποι πρδς τὰς ἐξίτῗθεῖί _ τῆς ψυχῆς κινήσεις, 7 αλλὰ κατεσταλμένοι τῷ milia ιῖξνιδ,’λογισιιὺς καθάπερ τις χαλινὸς enutriti-5:” τὰς ὁρμὰς, est; ἐᾷ τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς ἀταξίαν tua. , ρεσθαιξ Μᾶλλον 6; ἄν τις ὲπὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν ’τιάθους τὸ τοιοῦτον ἴδοι, ὅπως ἐστὶ μακαριατξν,ἢ πραότης. Ἐπειδὰν γὰρ λόγος, ἢ πρᾶξίς τις, ἦ ’ νοια τῶν ἀηδεστέρων τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνακινήσῃ νότξθι m). περιζέσῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ. τὸ αἷμα, καὶ διαναστῇ πρδῖ ἄμυναν ἡ ψυχή καθάπερ οἱ μῦθοι διὰ φαρμακῡῂ ι σίας τινδςήείς -άλόγων μορφὰς ἀλλοιοῦσι τὴνὲ ὀὗτιυς ἔστιν ἐξαίφνής ἰδεῖν σῦν, ἦ κύνα, ἦ πάρῆαξιν· ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον θηρίον ὲκ τοῦ θυμοῦ τὸν fit? ’Ύφαιμος ’δφθαλμός ' θρὶξ-ἑσταμένη λ ἐπιφρίσσουσαο φωνὴ τραχεῖα καὶ ὲποξυνομέντξ . ί) ῥήμασιν· γλῶσσα τῷ πάθει νεναρκηκυῖα, καὶ aq γ ταῖς ἔνδον ὁρμαίςο χείλη-πεπηγότα, οὐ διαρθροῦντα τὸν λόγον, οὔτε περιστέλλονξα Ϊίδ . στόματι τὴν ἐγγενομένην ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους ὺτρξτηῗι ε ait} ἀσχηὲιόνιιὶὲ τὸν ἀφίρδν τῇ φωνῇ συνεκῖττδθνξῖ - τοιαῦται αἱ χεῖρες · τοιοῦτοι οἱ πόδες· τοιαύτη ι τοῦ σώματος ἡ διάθεσις, ἑκάστου τῶν μελῶν 5M“
\‘tiqv hormēn pros tēn ekplērōsin tou thelēmati, (bareia gar kai katōpherēs hēulē) ; diatoutopsraia; rizei ho Kyrios, ou tous exō pathous ephʼ eautōn bioteuontas (ou gar dynaton estin en hylōdei zōę̄ ton iilon kathʼ holou kai apathē katorthōthēnai bion),alla ab endechomenon tēs aretēs horon en tę̄ dia sarkos Qui tēn praotēta legei, kai hikanoneis pauc-aptan ti pedon* einai phēsin. Ou gar katholou tēn attatheipe nomothetei tę̄ anthrōpinę̄ physei ’ oude gar faxsit: nomothetou to tauta keleuein, hosa hē physis ou dechetai; sed-gar toiouton homoion estin, hōsper Adv ex xix.ta enydra metoikizoi prds tdn “diu?” biixnn tib}? palin sia to hydōr, dsa tǭ aeri emsioteueii alla tę̄ oikeią kai kata physin dynamei prosphoron einai prisēkei ’ton nomon. Dia touto to metrion te kai. B makarismos, ou to pantapasin apathes enkeleuetpi; to men gar ixō tēs physeōs, td de at: aretēx kitthrs (deomenon.- Ei oun to akinēton pros epithyrianx makarismos hypetitheto, anonētos an-ēn ter biǭ achrēatox eulogia; tis gar an tou kathikoito sarki kai haimati synezeugmenosi N;dę̄ de phēsin ou tdn etxithymēsanta kata tina syntychian einaikatakriton, alla ton ek pronoias to pathos summaimenon. To men gar engenesthai pote toiautēn hormēn ē synkekramenē tę̄ physei pollakis adsveta?! dikēn ttarenechthēnnai tę̄ tou pathous bell-ilo aii drikōs pros tēn toiautēn diathesin stēnai, kai ttxe logismois ’to tiathos apōsasthai, touto tēs aretēs o. Makarioi toinyn hoi mē oxyrropoi prds tas exitïtheii _ tēs psychēs kinēseis, 7 alla katestalmenoi tǭ milia iixnid,’logisiiys kathaper tis chalinos enutriti-5:” tas hormas, est? eą tēn psychēn pros ataxian tua. , resthaix Mallon 6? an tis epi tou kata ton ’tiathous to toiouton idoi, hopōs esti makariatxn,ē praotēs. Epeidan gar logos, ē praxis tis, ē ’ noia tōn aēdesterōn tēn toiautēn anakinēsę̄ notxthi m). perizesę̄ tę̄ kardią. to haima, kai dianastę̄ prdi amynan hē psychē kathaper hoi mythoi dia pharmakyę̄ i sias tindsēeis -alogōn morphas alloiousi tēne houtiys estin exaiphnēs idein syn, ē kyna, ē parēaxin; ē allo ti toiouton thērion ek tou thymou ton fit? ’Yphaimos ’dphthalmos ' thrix-hestamenē l epiphrissousao phōnē tracheia kai epoxynomentx . i) rhēmasin; glōssa tǭ pathei nenarkēkuia, kai aq g tais endon hormaiso cheilē-pepēgota, ou diarthrounta ton logon, oute peristellonxa Ïid . stomati tēn engenomenēn hypo tou pathous ytrxtēïi e ait} aschēeioniiie ton aphirdn tę̄ phōnę̄ synekittdthnxi - toiautai hai cheires ; toioutoi hoi podes; toiautē i tou sōmatos hē diathesis, hekastou tōn melōn 5M“
… the impulse toward the fulfilment of the will (for matter is heavy and tends downward). For this reason the Lord blesses not those who live wholly free of passion — for it is not possible in a material life to achieve a life wholly free of passion — but he speaks of meekness as the limit of virtue attainable in life in the flesh, and says it suffices for blessedness. He does not lay down complete freedom from passion as a law for human nature; for it is not the part of a just lawgiver to command what nature does not admit. That would be like moving creatures of the water to live in the air, or again putting into the water those that live in the air; the law should be suited to our own natural power. Therefore the beatitude enjoins moderation and gentleness, not complete freedom from passion; for the one is beyond nature, the other is achieved by virtue. If the beatitude had proposed being unmoved by desire, the blessing would have been useless and unprofitable for life; for who, joined as he is to flesh and blood, could attain it? … he says that not the one who has felt desire by some chance is condemned, but the one who has deliberately … the passion. For that such an impulse should sometimes arise, mixed as it is with our nature … to be carried away …; but to stand manfully against such a disposition and drive off the passion by reasoning — this is the work of virtue. Blessed, then, are those who are not quick to incline toward the passionate movements of the soul, but are restrained by reason, whose reasoning, like a bridle, checks their impulses and does not let the soul be carried into disorder. One may see more clearly in the case of anger how meekness is blessed. When a word, or an act, or a suspicion of something disagreeable stirs up this passion, the blood boils around the heart, and the soul rises up for revenge, then — just as the myths, by some sorcery, change men into the forms of irrational animals — one can suddenly see a man become, from anger, a boar, or a dog, or a leopard, or some other such beast. The eye is bloodshot; the hair stands on end and bristles; the voice is harsh and sharpened in its words; the tongue is numbed by passion and does not keep pace with the impulses within; the lips are set, neither articulating speech nor keeping in the mouth the foam produced by the passion, but spraying it out unseemly with the words. Such are the hands, such the feet, such the state of the body, each limb
Chapter 1217
1217PG 44:1217a–1217d
ετιθε μένου τῷ πάθει. Et οὗν 6 μὲν τοιοῦτος εῐη· 6 δὲ ίπρδς τὸν μακαρισμὸν βλέπων, διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν ’καταπραΰνοι τὴν νόσον ὲν καθεστῶτι τῷ βλέμματι, λκαὶ ἠρεμαίᾳ τῇ φωνῇ, καθάπερ τις ἰατρὸς ἐκ φρενίτιίδος ἀσχημονοῦντα θεραπεύων τῇ τέχνῃ ο ἆρʼ οὐχὶ καὶ εαὺτὸς ἐρεῖς ἀντιπαραθεὶς τοῦτο ἐκείνῳ, ὅτι ἐλεεινὸς μὲν καὶ βδελυκτδς 6 θηριώδης ἐκεῖνος, μακαριστὸς δὲ ίό πραῢς ὁ τῇ τοῦ πέλας κακίᾳ μὴ ωνδιαπρέψας τὸ λ εὔσχημον ; Kal ὅτι πρὸς τοῦτο μάλιστα τὸ πάθος ὁ Λόγος βλέπει, δῆλόν ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ μετὰ τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ” νομοθετῆσαι ἡμῖν τὴν πραότητα. Ἔοικε γάρ ἔχεσθαι τ τοῦ ἐτέρου τὸ ἕτερον, καὶ οἷον μήτηρ τις εἷναι τῆς τ κατὰ τὸ πρᾶον ἕξεως ἡ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης κατάῖ στασις. El γὰρ ὑφέλοις τοῦ ἤθους τὸν τῦφον, καιρὸν ι οὐκ ἔχει τὺ κατὰ θυμὸν ἐγγενέσθαι πάθος. ’Ὕβρις γὰρ τ καὶ ἀτιμία τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρρωστίας τοῖς ὀργισθεῖσιν ί αἰτία γίνεται. ’Δτιμία δὲ οὐχ ἅπτεται τοῦ ἑαυτὸν ‘ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ παιδαγωγήσαντος. Εἰ γάρ τις κεκα· : 0 αρμένον ἔχοι τὸν λογισμὸν ὲκ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀπάτης, ε καὶ βλέποι τὸ ούτιδανὺν τῆς φύσεως συγκεκλή ρωται, η ἀφʼ οἴας ἀρχῆς τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει, καὶ εἰς ὅ τι φέρεται τέλος τὸ βραχὺ καὶ ὠκύμορον τῆς τῇδε ζωῆς, καὶ τὸν ’ ι συνεζευγμένον τῇ σαρκὶ ῥύπον, καὶ τὸ πενιχρὸν τῆς ς φύσεως. τὸ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὴν αὐτάρκη διʼ ἑαυτῆς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν σύστασιν, εί μὴ τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῶν ἀλόγων η τὸ ἐνδέον ἀναπληρώσειεν · λύπας τε πρὸς τούτοις καὶ ε πένθη καὶ συμφορὰς, τάς τε πολυτρόπους τῶν νογ σημάτων ἰδέας, αἷς ὑπόκειται ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη ζωὴ, ὧν ι οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις ὲκ φύσεως ἀτελής ἐστι καὶ ἐλεύθει ρος. Ταῦτα διʼ ἀκριβείας κεκαθαρμένῳ τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ς ὀφθαλμῷ βλέπων, οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως πρὸς τὰς τῶν τι·μῶν ἐλλείψεις ἀγανακτήσειεν. Tb ἐναντίον μὲν οὗν γ ἀπάτην ἡγήσεται τὴν ἐπί τινι προσαγομένην αὐτῷ παρὰ τοῦ πέλας τιμὴν, οὐκ ὄντος ἡμῖν ὲν τῇ φύσει ; τοιούτου τινὸς, ὃ δύναται τὴν πρὸς τὸ τίμιον κοινω- ; νίαν ἔχειν, εί μὴ κατὰ ψυχὴν μόνον, ἧς ἡ τιμὴ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν κατά τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἐπιζητουμένων συνι ίσταται. Tb γὰρ ἐπὶ πλούτῳ κομπάζειν, ἢ γένει σε· : μνύνεσθαι, ἢ πρὸς δόξαν δρᾷν, ἢ τὸ δοκεῖν ὑπὲρ τὸν π πέλας εἶναι, διʼ ὧν αἱ ἀνθρώπιναι πληροῦνται τιμαίο i ταῦτα πάντα καθαίρεσις τῆς ψυχικῆς τιμῆς καὶ ί ὖνειδος γίνονται, ὡς μὴ ἂν ἑλέσθαι τὸν λελογισμένον , τοιούτῳ τινὶ τὸ καθαρὸν τῆς ψυχῆς καταμολύνεσθαι. ι Τὸ δὲ οὕτως ἔχειν οὐδὲν ἕτερον, ἢ ἐν έξει βαθείᾳ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐστὶν εἷναι, ἦς κατορθωθείσης, οὐ δεμίαν εἴσοδον 6 θυμὸς κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἕξει. Τούτου δὲ μὴ παρόντος, 6 ἦρεμός τε καὶ ήσύχιος κατορθοῦται βίος ο ὅπερ οὐδὲν ἓτερον, εί μὴ πραΰτης ἐστὶν, ἧς τὸ πέρας μακαρισμὸς καὶ οὐρανίας γῆς κληρονομία, ὲν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ’Λμήν.
etithe menou tǭ pathei. Et houn 6 men toioutos eiē; 6 de iprds ton makarismon blepōn, dia tōn logismōn ’katapraÿnoi tēn noson en kathestōti tǭ blemmati, lkai ēremaią tę̄ phōnę̄, kathaper tis iatros ek phrenitiidos aschēmonounta therapeuōn tę̄ technę̄ o arʼ ouchi kai eautos ereis antiparatheis touto ekeinǭ, hoti eleeinos men kai bdelyktds 6 thēriōdēs ekeinos, makaristos de io praÿs ho tę̄ tou pelas kakią mē ōndiaprepsas to l euschēmon ? Kal hoti pros touto malista to pathos ho Logos blepei, dēlon estin ek tou meta tēn tapeinophrosynēn ” nomothetēsai hēmin tēn praotēta. Eoike gar echesthai t tou eterou to heteron, kai hoion mētēr tis heinai tēs t kata to praon hexeōs hē tēs tapeinophrosynēs katai stasis. El gar hyphelois tou ēthous ton typhon, kairon i ouk echei ty kata thymon engenesthai pathos. ’Hybris gar t kai atimia tēs toiautēs arrōstias tois orgistheisin i aitia ginetai. ’Dtimia de ouch haptetai tou heauton ‘ tapeinophrosynę̄ paidagōgēsantos. Ei gar tis keka; : 0 armenon echoi ton logismon ek tēs anthrōpinēs apatēs, e kai blepoi to outidanyn tēs physeōs synkeklē rōtai, ē aphʼ oias archēs tēn systasin echei, kai eis ho ti pheretai telos to brachy kai ōkymoron tēs tę̄de zōēs, kai ton ’ i synezeugmenon tę̄ sarki rhypon, kai to penichron tēs s physeōs. to mē einai autēn autarkē diʼ heautēs pros tēn idian systasin, ei mē tę̄ periousią tōn alogōn ē to endeon anaplērōseien ; lypas te pros toutois kai e penthē kai symphoras, tas te polytropous tōn nog sēmatōn ideas, hais hypokeitai hē anthrōpinē zōē, hōn i ouk estin hostis ek physeōs atelēs esti kai eleuthei ros. Tauta diʼ akribeias kekatharmenǭ tǭ tēs psychēs s ophthalmǭ blepōn, ouk an rhądiōs pros tas tōn ti;mōn elleipseis aganaktēseien. Tb enantion men houn g apatēn hēgēsetai tēn epi tini prosagomenēn autǭ para tou pelas timēn, ouk ontos hēmin en tę̄ physei ? toioutou tinos, ho dynatai tēn pros to timion koinō- ? nian echein, ei mē kata psychēn monon, hēs hē timē ouk apo tōn kata ton kosmon touton epizētoumenōn syni istatai. Tb gar epi ploutǭ kompazein, ē genei se; : mnynesthai, ē pros doxan drąn, ē to dokein hyper ton p pelas einai, diʼ hōn hai anthrōpinai plērountai timaio i tauta panta kathairesis tēs psychikēs timēs kai i yneidos ginontai, hōs mē an helesthai ton lelogismenon , toioutǭ tini to katharon tēs psychēs katamolynesthai. i To de houtōs echein ouden heteron, ē en exei batheią tēs tapeinophrosynēs estin heinai, ēs katorthōtheisēs, ou demian eisodon 6 thymos kata tēs psychēs hexei. Toutou de mē parontos, 6 ēremos te kai ēsychios katorthoutai bios o hoper ouden heteron, ei mē praÿtēs estin, hēs to peras makarismos kai ouranias gēs klēronomia, en Christǭ Iēsou, hǭ hē doxa kai to kratos, eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. ’Lmēn.
conspiring with the passion. If, then, the one is like this, while the other, looking to the beatitude, calms the disease by reasoning, with a steady glance and a quiet voice, like a physician who by his art treats a man behaving disgracefully in a frenzy, will you not yourself say, comparing the one with the other, that the beastlike man is pitiable and loathsome, but the meek man is blessed, who did not let his neighbour’s wickedness overturn his own decorum? That the Word has this passion especially in view is clear from his laying down meekness for us right after humility. For the one seems to hold on to the other, and the state of humility is like a mother of the habit of meekness. If you remove conceit from the character, the passion of anger has no occasion to arise; for insult and dishonour become the cause of this sickness in those who are angered, and dishonour does not touch one who has trained himself in humility. If someone has a reason purified of human delusion, and sees the worthlessness that is our nature’s lot — from what beginning it takes its composition, and to what end this brief and short-lived life here is carried; the filth bound up with the flesh; the poverty of our nature, which cannot sustain itself by itself unless it fills its want from the abundance of the irrational creatures; and besides these the griefs, mourning, and misfortunes, and the many kinds of diseases to which human life is subject, from which no one is by nature exempt and free — seeing these things exactly with the purified eye of the soul, he would not easily be vexed at falling short of honours. On the contrary, he will consider deceptive any honour paid him by his neighbour for anything, since there is nothing in our nature that can share in honour except the soul alone, whose honour does not consist in the things sought after in this world. To boast of wealth, to pride oneself on family, to look for glory, or to seem to be above one’s neighbour — the things of which human honours are made up — all these become the ruin and reproach of the soul’s honour, so that a reasonable person would not choose to defile the purity of his soul with any such thing. To be so disposed is nothing other than to be in a deep habit of humility; and when this has been achieved, anger will find no entrance against the soul. When anger is absent, the calm and quiet life is achieved, which is nothing other than meekness, whose end is blessedness and the inheritance of the heavenly earth, in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Chapter 1219
1219PG 44:1220a–1220d
Α ΛΟΓΟΣ Γ. Μακάριοι οὶ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθῂ- Οῠπω τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ ὅρους ὲπιβεβήκαμεν, ἀλλʼ ἔτι κατά τὴν ὑπώρειαν τῶν νοημάτων ἐσμέν· εἱ καί δύο τινὰς ἥδη παρωδεύσαμεν λόφους, ἐπὶ τὴν μα· καριστὴν πτωχείαν, καί τὴν ἀνωτέρω ταύτης πραότητα διὰ τῶν μακαρισμῶν ἀναχθέντες, μεθʼ οὓς προσάγει τοῖς ὑψηλοτέροις ἡμᾶς ὁΛὸγος, καὶ τρίτου ἡμῖν ἑφεξῆς ὕψωμα διὰ τῶν μακαρισμῶν ἀναδείκνυσι· πρὸς δ χρὴ πάντως ἀναδραμεῖν ὄκνον ἀτοθεμένους πάντα, καί τὴν εὐπερίστατον ἁμαρτίαν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὡς ἂν κοῦφοι καὶ εὐσταλεῖς ἐπὶ τῆς ἄκρας γενόμενοι, καθαρωτέρῳ τῷ τῆς ἀληθείας φωτὶ διὰ τῆς ψυχῆς πῳσπελάααιμεν. Τί Β τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὸ λεγόμενον, Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες. ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται; Γελάαει πάντως ὁ πρὸς τὸν κόσμον βλέπων, καὶ λέξει ταῦτα καταχλευὰζων τὸν Λόγον ο Et μακαρίζονται κατά τὸν βίον οἱέν πάσῃ συμφορᾷ δαπανώμενοι, ἄθλιοι κατά τὸ ἀκόλουθόν είσι πάντως οἷς ἄλυπός τε καὶ ἀπήμων ἐστὶν ἡ ζωή. Καὶ οὕτω τὰ εἴδη τῶν συμφορῶν ἐξαριθμούμενος, πλεονᾴσει τὸν γέλωτα, τὰ τῆς χηρείας κακὰ, καὶ τὴν τῆς ὀρφανίας ταλαιπωρίαν ὑπʼ ὄψιν ἄγων. τὰς ζημίας, τὰ ναυάγια, τᾲς ὲκ πολέμων αἰχμαλω· σίας, τὰς ἀδίκους ἐν δικαστηρίῳ κρίσεις. μεθορίσμούς τε καλ δημεύσεις καὶ ἀτιμίας,τάς τε … τὰς ὲκ τῶν νόσων, οἷον πηρώσεις τε καὶ ἀκρωήο ριασμοὺς, καὶ τὴν παντοδαπὴν τοῦ σώματος λώβην. καὶ εἴτι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις κατά τὸν βίον τοῦτον συνίσταται πάθος,ἢ σώματος,ἢ ψυχῆς ἀπτόμενον, πάντα τῷ λόγῳ διεξελεύσεται, διʼ ὧν, ὡς οἴεται, καταγέλαστον ἀποδείξει τὸν τοὺς πενθοῦντας μακαρίζοντα λόγον. Ἡμεῖς δὲ μικρὰ φροντίσαντες τῶν μικρσιῖιῦ· κως τε καὶ … ἀναθεωρούντων τὰ θεῖα vol}: ματα, ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν κατιδεῖν τὸν ἐγκείμενον τίς) εἰρημένῳ διὰ βάθους πλοῦτον ἐπιχειρήσωμεν, ὅπως ἂν φανερὸν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γένοιτο, πόσον ἐστὶ τδ διάφορον τῆς σαρκίνης τε καὶ χοῖκῆς διανοίας, πρὶς τὴν ὑψηλήν τε καί ἐπουράνιον. Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ὲκ τοῦ προχείρου μακαριστδν ὑπαί λαβεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ πένθος, τὸ ἐπὶ πλημμελήματξικξὶ ἁμαρτίαις γινόμενον, κατά τὴν τοῦ Παῦλου περὶτῆς ί) λύπης διδασκαλίαν, τοῦ φήσαντος, μὴ ἓν εἶναι λύπης εἶδος, ἀλλά τὸ μὲν κοσμικὸν, τὸ δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν ἐνείν γούμενον. Καὶ τῆς ὑμὲν κοσμικῆς λύπης, θάνατον εἶναιτὸ ἔργον· τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν, σωτηρίαν ἐκ im? νοίας τοῖςγλυπουμένοις ἐργάζεσθαι. Τῷ δντι γὰρ οὒκ ἔξω τοῦ μακαρίζεσθαι τὸ τοιοῦτον τῆς ψυχῆς πάθος ἐστὶν, ὅταν ἐνί αἰσθήσει γενομένη τοῦγ χείρονος, τξιν ὲν κακίᾳ βίον ἁπολοφύρηται. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν σωματικῶν ἀρρωστημάτων, οἷς ἂν πάρετον ἐξ ὲπξγ ρείας τινὸς γένηταί τι μέρος τοῦ σώματος, σημεῖα τοῦ νενεκρῶσθαι τὸ παρειμένον ἡ ἀναλγησία γίνεται· εί δὲ κατά τινα τέχνην ἰατρικὴν ἡ ζωτικὴ πάλιν αἴσθησις ὲπαναχθείη τῷ σώματι, χαίρουσιν ήδη πθ·
A LOGOS G. Makarioi oi penthountes, hoti autoi paraklēthę̄- Oupō tēs koryphēs tou horous epibebēkamen, allʼ eti kata tēn hypōreian tōn noēmatōn esmen; hei kai dyo tinas hēdē parōdeusamen lophous, epi tēn ma; karistēn ptōcheian, kai tēn anōterō tautēs praotēta dia tōn makarismōn anachthentes, methʼ hous prosagei tois hypsēloterois hēmas hoLogos, kai tritou hēmin hephexēs hypsōma dia tōn makarismōn anadeiknysi; pros d chrē pantōs anadramein oknon atothemenous panta, kai tēn euperistaton hamartian, kathōs phēsin ho Apostolos, hōs an kouphoi kai eustaleis epi tēs akras genomenoi, katharōterǭ tǭ tēs alētheias phōti dia tēs psychēs pǭspelaaaimen. Ti B toinyn esti to legomenon, Makarioi hoi penthountes. hoti autoi paraklēthēsontai? Gelaaei pantōs ho pros ton kosmon blepōn, kai lexei tauta katachleuazōn ton Logon o Et makarizontai kata ton bion hoien pasę̄ symphorą dapanōmenoi, athlioi kata to akolouthon eisi pantōs hois alypos te kai apēmōn estin hē zōē. Kai houtō ta eidē tōn symphorōn exarithmoumenos, pleonąsei ton gelōta, ta tēs chēreias kaka, kai tēn tēs orphanias talaipōrian hypʼ opsin agōn. tas zēmias, ta nauagia, tąs ek polemōn aichmalō; sias, tas adikous en dikastēriǭ kriseis. methorismous te kal dēmeuseis kai atimias,tas te … tas ek tōn nosōn, hoion pērōseis te kai akrōēo riasmous, kai tēn pantodapēn tou sōmatos lōbēn. kai eiti tois anthrōpois kata ton bion touton synistatai pathos,ē sōmatos,ē psychēs aptomenon, panta tǭ logǭ diexeleusetai, diʼ hōn, hōs oietai, katagelaston apodeixei ton tous penthountas makarizonta logon. Hēmeis de mikra phrontisantes tōn mikrsiiiy; kōs te kai … anatheōrountōn ta theia vol}: mata, hōs esti dynaton katidein ton enkeimenon tis) eirēmenǭ dia bathous plouton epicheirēsōmen, hopōs an phaneron kai dia touto genoito, poson esti td diaphoron tēs sarkinēs te kai choikēs dianoias, pris tēn hypsēlēn te kai epouranion. Esti men oun ek tou procheirou makaristdn hypai labein ekeino to penthos, to epi plēmmelēmatxikxi hamartiais ginomenon, kata tēn tou Paulou peritēs i) lypēs didaskalian, tou phēsantos, mē hen einai lypēs eidos, alla to men kosmikon, to de kata Theon enein goumenon. Kai tēs hymen kosmikēs lypēs, thanaton einaito ergon; tēn de heteran, sōtērian ek im? noias toisglypoumenois ergazesthai. Tǭ dnti gar ouk exō tou makarizesthai to toiouton tēs psychēs pathos estin, hotan eni aisthēsei genomenē toug cheironos, txin en kakią bion hapolophyrētai. Kathaper gar epi tōn sōmatikōn arrōstēmatōn, hois an pareton ex epxg reias tinos genētai ti meros tou sōmatos, sēmeia tou nenekrōsthai to pareimenon hē analgēsia ginetai; ei de kata tina technēn iatrikēn hē zōtikē palin aisthēsis epanachtheiē tǭ sōmati, chairousin ēdē pth;
Homily 3. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” We have not yet reached the summit of the mountain; we are still at the foothills of the thoughts, even though we have already passed two hills, led up by the Beatitudes to the blessed poverty and to the meekness that lies above it. After these the Word brings us to higher things and shows us next a third height through the Beatitudes. We must surely run up to it, laying aside all hesitation and “the sin that clings so closely,” as the Apostle says, so that, coming light and unencumbered to the summit, we may draw near in soul to the purer light of truth. What, then, does the saying mean, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”? Whoever looks to the world will surely laugh, and say in mockery of the Word: “If those consumed by every misfortune are called blessed in this life, then by consequence those whose life is free of grief and harm are certainly wretched.” And so, enumerating the kinds of misfortune, he will laugh all the more, bringing before our eyes the evils of widowhood and the misery of orphanhood, losses, shipwrecks, captivity in war, unjust judgments in court, banishments, confiscations and disgraces, the … of diseases, such as maimings, mutilations, and every kind of bodily disfigurement; and whatever suffering befalls human beings in this life, touching body or soul, he will go through them all in his speech, by which, as he thinks, he will show that the saying that blesses mourners is ridiculous. But let us pay little heed to those who view the divine words in a petty and … way, and attempt, as far as we can, to see the wealth that lies deep in the saying, so that by this too it may become plain how great is the difference between fleshly and earthly thinking and the lofty and heavenly kind. One may readily take as blessed the mourning that arises over offences and sins, according to Paul’s teaching about grief: he said that grief is not of one kind, but that one is worldly and the other works according to God, and that the work of worldly grief is death, while the other works salvation from repentance for those who grieve. For indeed such an affection of the soul is not outside blessedness, when the soul comes to perceive the worse and laments its life in vice. In bodily illnesses, when some part of the body has become paralysed through some injury, the absence of pain is a sign that the paralysed part has died; but if by some medical art vital sensation is restored to the body, those
Chapter 1221
1221PG 44:1221a–1221d
ε θεραπείαν προσάγοντες, τεκμηρίῳ χρώμενοι τοῦ ν προς ὑγίειαν τρέψαι τὸ πάθος, τὸ ὲν αἰσθήσει τῶν δριμυσσόντων ἤδη γενέσθαι τὸ μέλος· οὑτως ἐπειδάν, καθώς φησιν 6 Ἀπόστολος, ἀπηλγηκότες τινὲς παραδῶσι τῷ καθʼ ἁμαρτίαν βίῳ ἑαυτοὺς, νεκροί τινες ὄντως καὶ πάρετοι τοῦ κατʼ ἀρετὴν βίου γενόμενοι, οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσιν ὧν ποιοῦσιν τὴν αἴσθησιν. Εἰ δὲ καθάψαιτό τις αὑτῶν 6 ἰατρεύων λόγος, οἷον διά τινων θερμῶν τε καὶ διακαιόντων φαρμάκων (λέγω δὲ τῶν σκυθρωπῶν τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως ἀπειλῶν), καὶ διὰ βάθους τὴν καρδίαν τῷ φόβῳ τῶν προσδοκωμένων δριμύξειεν, γεέννης φόβον, καὶ ττῦρ μὴ σβεννύ μενον, καὶ ἀτελεύτητον σκώληκα, καὶ βρυγμὺν όδίντων, καὶ κλαυθμὸν ἀδιάλειπτον, καὶ σκότος ἐξώτερον, καὶ ἅπαντα τά τοιαῦτα, οἷόν τινα θερμά καὶ δριμέα φάρμακα τῷ νεναρκηκότι διὰ τῶν καθʼ ἡδονὴν παθημάτων ἐντρίὸων καὶ άναθάλπων, είς αἴσθησιν αὑτὸν ἀγάγοι τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἦν βίου, μακαριστὸν αὑτὸν ἀπεργάσηται, τὴν ὀδυνηρὰν αἴσθησιν τῇ ψυχῇ ἐμποιήσας. Καθάπερ καί 6 Παῦλος τὸν τῇ κοίτῃ τοῦ πάτρος ἑπιλυσσήσαντα, μέχρις ἐκείνου μαστίζει τῷ λόγῳ, ἕως ἂν ἀναισθήτως εἶχεν τῆς ἁμαρτίας · ἐπεὶ δὲ καθίκετο τοῦ ἀνδρὸςή τῆς ἐπι-πλήξεως ἰατρεία, ὡς ἤδη μακάριον διά τοῦ πένθους γενόμενον, παραυ καλεῖν ἄρχεται, ἴνα μὴ τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ, φησὶ, καταποθῇ 6 τοιοῦτος. Ἔστω δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἡμῖντὸ νόημα πρὸς τὴν προκειμένην τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ θεωρίαν εἰς τὸν κατʼ ἀρετὴν βίον οὐκ ἄχρηστον, διὰ τὸ πλεονάζειν πως ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτης δὲ φάρμακον τὸ ἐκ μετανοίας πένθος ἀποδέδεικται. Ἀλλά μοι δοκεῖ βαθύτερόν τι τῶν εἰρημένων ὑποσημαίνειν 6 Λόγος ἐν τῇ παρατατικῇ τοῦ πένθους ἐνεργείᾳ, ἄλλο τι παρὰ τοῦτο νοεῖν ὑφηγούμενος. Εἰγὰρ μόνην τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ πλημμελήματι μεταμέλειαν ἐπεδείκνυεν, ἁκολουθότερον ἂν ἦν τοὺς πενθήσαντας μακαρίζεσθαι, ού τοὺς εἰσαεί πενθοῦντας ο ὡς ἐπὶ ὑποδείγματος συγκρίσει τῆς ἐν τῇ νόσῳ διαγωγῆς τοὺς Οεραπευθέντας μακαρίζομεν, οὑ τοὺς εἰσαεὶ θεραπευομένους. Ἦ γὰρ παράτασις τῆς θεραπείας, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀρρωστίας διηνεκὲς συνενὸείκνυται. Καὶ ἄλλως δέ μοι δοκεῖ καλῶς ἔχειν μὴ τῷ τοιούτῳ μόνῳ νοήματι τίθεσθαι, ὡς τοῦ Λόγου τοῖς ἐφʼ ἁμαρτίαις πενθοῦσιν τὸν μακαρισμὸν νέμοντος. Πολλοὺς γάρ εὑρήσομεν ἀκατηγόρητον ἐσχηκότας τὸν βίον, καὶ ὑπʼ αὑτῆς τῆς θείας φωνῆς μεμαρτυρημένον ἐπὶ παντὶ τῷ βελτίονι. Ποία γάρ πλεονεξία τοῦ Ἰωάννου; ποία εἰδωλολατρεία τοῦ Ἦλίου; Τί μικρὸν ἢ μεῖζον κατά τὸν βίον ἐκείνων οἶδενη ἱστορία πλημμέλημα; Τί οὗνς Ἀρα ἔξω τῆς μακαριότητος εἶναι 6 λόγος αὐτοὺς ὑποθήσεται, τοὺς μήτε τὴν ἀρχὴν νενοσηκότας, μήτε τοε φαρμάκου τούτου, λέγω δὲ τοῦ ἐκ μετανοίας πένθους,είς χρείαν ἐλθόνταςς Ἦ ἄτοπον εἴη τοὺς τοιούτους τῆς θείας μακαριότητος ἀποβλητους οἴεσθαι, ὅτι μήτε ἥμαρτον, μήτε πένθει τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἱάσαντοξ Ἢ οὕτω γʼ ἂν εῐη τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν τοῦ ἀναμαρτήτως ζῇν προτιμότει
e therapeian prosagontes, tekmēriǭ chrōmenoi tou n pros hygieian trepsai to pathos, to en aisthēsei tōn drimyssontōn ēdē genesthai to melos; houtōs epeidan, kathōs phēsin 6 Apostolos, apēlgēkotes tines paradōsi tǭ kathʼ hamartian biǭ heautous, nekroi tines ontōs kai paretoi tou katʼ aretēn biou genomenoi, oudemian echousin hōn poiousin tēn aisthēsin. Ei de kathapsaito tis hautōn 6 iatreuōn logos, hoion dia tinōn thermōn te kai diakaiontōn pharmakōn (legō de tōn skythrōpōn tēs mellousēs kriseōs apeilōn), kai dia bathous tēn kardian tǭ phobǭ tōn prosdokōmenōn drimyxeien, geennēs phobon, kai ttyr mē sbenny menon, kai ateleutēton skōlēka, kai brygmyn odintōn, kai klauthmon adialeipton, kai skotos exōteron, kai hapanta ta toiauta, hoion tina therma kai drimea pharmaka tǭ nenarkēkoti dia tōn kathʼ hēdonēn pathēmatōn entrioōn kai anathalpōn, eis aisthēsin hauton agagoi tou en hǭ ēn biou, makariston hauton apergasētai, tēn odynēran aisthēsin tę̄ psychę̄ empoiēsas. Kathaper kai 6 Paulos ton tę̄ koitę̄ tou patros hepilyssēsanta, mechris ekeinou mastizei tǭ logǭ, heōs an anaisthētōs eichen tēs hamartias ; epei de kathiketo tou androsē tēs epi-plēxeōs iatreia, hōs ēdē makarion dia tou penthous genomenon, parau kalein archetai, ina mē tę̄ perissoterą lypę̄, phēsi, katapothę̄ 6 toioutos. Estō de kai touto hēminto noēma pros tēn prokeimenēn tou makarismou theōrian eis ton katʼ aretēn bion ouk achrēston, dia to pleonazein pōs en tę̄ physei tōn anthrōpōn tēn hamartian tautēs de pharmakon to ek metanoias penthos apodedeiktai. Alla moi dokei bathyteron ti tōn eirēmenōn hyposēmainein 6 Logos en tę̄ paratatikę̄ tou penthous energeią, allo ti para touto noein hyphēgoumenos. Eigar monēn tēn epi tǭ plēmmelēmati metameleian epedeiknyen, hakolouthoteron an ēn tous penthēsantas makarizesthai, ou tous eisaei penthountas o hōs epi hypodeigmatos synkrisei tēs en tę̄ nosǭ diagōgēs tous Oerapeuthentas makarizomen, hou tous eisaei therapeuomenous. Ē gar paratasis tēs therapeias, kai to tēs arrōstias diēnekes synenoeiknytai. Kai allōs de moi dokei kalōs echein mē tǭ toioutǭ monǭ noēmati tithesthai, hōs tou Logou tois ephʼ hamartiais penthousin ton makarismon nemontos. Pollous gar heurēsomen akatēgorēton eschēkotas ton bion, kai hypʼ hautēs tēs theias phōnēs memartyrēmenon epi panti tǭ beltioni. Poia gar pleonexia tou Iōannou? poia eidōlolatreia tou Ēliou? Ti mikron ē meizon kata ton bion ekeinōn oidenē historia plēmmelēma? Ti houns Ara exō tēs makariotētos einai 6 logos autous hypothēsetai, tous mēte tēn archēn nenosēkotas, mēte toe pharmakou toutou, legō de tou ek metanoias penthous,eis chreian elthontass Ē atopon eiē tous toioutous tēs theias makariotētos apoblētous oiesthai, hoti mēte hēmarton, mēte penthei tēn hamartian hiasantox Ē houtō gʼ an eiē to hamartanein tou anamartētōs zę̄n protimotei
who apply the treatment rejoice, taking it as proof that the affliction has turned toward health when the limb begins to feel the stinging remedies. So it is when, as the Apostle says, some have become callous and given themselves over to the life of sin: they have become truly dead and paralysed toward the life of virtue, and have no sensation of what they are doing. But if the healing word takes hold of them, as with hot and burning remedies — I mean the gloomy threats of the coming judgment — and pricks the heart deeply with fear of what is expected — fear of Gehenna, the unquenchable fire, the undying worm, the gnashing of teeth, unceasing weeping, the outer darkness, and all such things — rubbing these in and warming the one numbed by the passions of pleasure, as with hot and pungent remedies, and bringing him to feel the life he was living, it makes him blessed by producing that painful sensation in his soul. So Paul too lashes with his word the man who had raged after his father’s bed, for as long as he was insensible of his sin; but when the healing of the rebuke reached the man, Paul begins to comfort him, as one who had now become blessed through mourning, “so that such a one,” he says, “may not be swallowed up by excessive grief.” Let this meaning too not be useless for us in the contemplation of the beatitude for the life of virtue, since sin somehow abounds in human nature, and mourning from repentance has been shown to be its remedy. But it seems to me that the Word hints at something deeper than what has been said, in the continuous form of the verb “mourn,” guiding us to understand something else besides this. For if he were pointing only to regret for an offence, it would be more consistent to bless those who have mourned, not those who always mourn; just as, comparing by example the condition of illness, we call blessed those who have been healed, not those who are always being treated, for prolonged treatment also shows the continuance of the illness. Besides, it seems to me right not to settle for this meaning alone, as though the Word assigned blessedness only to those who mourn for sins. For we shall find many whose life was blameless, attested by the divine voice itself for everything that is better. What greed was there in John? What idolatry in Elijah? What offence, small or great, does the history know in their lives? What then? Will the Word place outside blessedness those who were never sick at all and never came to need this remedy, I mean mourning from repentance? Would it not be absurd to think that such people are excluded from divine blessedness because they neither sinned nor healed sin by mourning? Then sinning would be preferable to living without sin.
Chapter 1223
1223PG 44:1224a–1224d
ρον. εἰ μόνοις τοῖς μετανοοῦσιν τοῦ Παρακλήτω χάρις ἀποκεκλήρωται; Μακάριοι γὰρ. φησὶν, οι πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Οὐκοῦν ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν ἑπόμενοι, καθώς φησιν ὁ “p.61κοὺμ, τῷ ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ἐπιὸιβῶντι, πάλιν τὴν ἐγκειμένην διάνοιαν τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἁναζητήσωμεν, ὡς ἂν μάθοιμεν ποίῳ πένθει πρόκειται ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου πα ράκλησις. Σκοπήσωμεν τοίνυν ἐν τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ζωῇ, τί πιτε πρῶτον αὐτὸ τὸ πένθος ἐστὶ, κα). ἐπὶ τίσιν συνίσταται. Οὐκοῦν πρόδηλον ἅπασιν τὸ τοιοῦτον, an πένθος ἐστὶ σκυθρωπὴ διάθεσις τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐπὶ στερήτει τινὸς τῶν καταθυμί‹.›ν συνισταμένη” ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐν εὐθυμία διαδιούντωνʼσυνίστασθαι χώραν οὐκ ἔχει ‘ οἷον, εὐπραγΞί τις κατὰ τὸν βίον, πάντα xx": ῥοῦν αὐτῷ διὰ τῶν ἡδέων τὰ πράγματα φέρεται, τῇ γαμετῇ ὲπευφραὶνεται, τοῖς παισὶν ἑπαγὰλλεται. διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν συμμαχίας ὠχύρωται, σεμνὸς κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν, τίμιος τοῖς δυναστεύουσιν, φοβερὸς τρῖς ἀντιτεταγμένοις, ἀκαταφρόνητος τοῖς ὑποχειρίοις, φξλοις εὐπρόσιτος, πλούτῳ κομῶν, ἀπολαυστικὸς, ἠδϋς, ἄλυπος, σθεναρὸς τῷ σώματι· πάντα ἔχων, ὅσα τίμια κατὰ τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον εἶναι δοκεῖʼ ὁ τοιοῦτος πάντως ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ ἑκάστῳ τῶν παρόντων ἐπιγαννύμενος. Εἰ δέ τις μεταβολὴ τῆς εὐημερίας ταύτης καθάψαιτο, ἦ διάζευξιν τῶν φιλτάτων, ἣ ζημίαν τῶν προσόντων, ἦ τινα πήρωσιν τῆς σωματικῆς εὐκληρίας, ὲκ πονηρᾶς τινος (Iuven-xta; ‘émi'roum. τότε τῇ ὑπεξαιρέσει τοῦ εὐφραῖνοντος, ή ὲναντῖα διάθεσις μ γίνεται, ἣν πένθος προσαγορεύομεν. οὐκοῦν ἀληθὴς ὁ ἁποδεόομένος περὶ αὑτοῦ λόγος, ὅτι πένθος ἐστὶν αἴσθησίς τις ἀλγεινὴ τῆς τῶν εὐφραινόντων στερήσεως. Εἰ δὴ νενόηται ἡμῖν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον πένθος, γενέσθω τις ὁδηγία τῶν ἀγνοουμένων τὰ πρόδηλα, ὡς ἂν φανερὸν γένοιτο, τί τὺ μακαριζόμενον ἐστι πένθος, ἐπακολουθεῖ ὴ παράκλησις. Εἰ γὰρ ὴ τῶν προσόντων ἀγαθῶν στέρησις ἐνταῦθα τὺ πένθος ποιεῖ, οὐκ ἂν δέ τις τοῦ ἀγνοουμένου τὴν ζημίαν ἀπολοφύραιτο· γνῶναι προσήκει πρότερον αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαθον, ὅ τε ποτέ ἐστι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, εἷθʼ οὕτως τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν κατανοῆσαι. Διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο συμβήσεται τὸ μακαριζόμενον πένθος κατορθωθῆναι. Οἴον γάρ στιν ἐπὶ τῶν ὲν σκότῳ βιοτευόντων, ὅταν ὁ μὶν ἐν· τεχθῇ τῷ ζόφῳ, ὁ δὲ τῇ ἀπολαύσει τοῦ ἔξω φωτὸς συνειθισμένος, ἐξ ἐπηρείας τινος κατάκλειστος γένηται, οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀμφοτέρων ἡτῶν παρόντων καθέξπτεται συμφορὰ (ὁ μὲν γὰρ εῐδὼς οὗ ἐστέρηται, βαρεῖαν ποιεῖται τοῦ φωτὸς τὴν ζημίαν· ὀ δὲ μηδὲ ὅλως ἐγνωκὼς τὴν τοιαύτην χάριν, ἀλύπως διαΰιὼσεται, διὰ τὴν τροφίαι) τοῦ ζόφου μηδενὸς ἐκπεπτωκέ ναι τῶν ἀγαθῶν λογιζόμενος ’ ἐκ δὲ τούτου τὸν μὲν ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς τοῦ φωτὸς ἀπολαύσεως, εἰς πᾶσαν ἄξει μηχανὴν καὶ ἐπίνοιαν τοῦ πάλιν ἰδεῖν οὗ ἐξ ἐπηρείας ἀπεστερήθη· ὁδὲ καταγηράεει τῷ ζόφιεῖ διαβιῶν, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐγνωκέναι τὸ βέλτιον, ἀγαθὸν ἐαυτῷ τὸ παρὸν κρίνων) · οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ προκ;ι;.ιένου νοήματος. ὁ τὺ ἀληθῶς ἀγαθὸν κατιδεῖν ἰσχύσας, ἔπειτα
ron. ei monois tois metanoousin tou Paraklētō charis apokeklērōtai? Makarioi gar. phēsin, oi penthountes, hoti autoi paraklēthēsontai. Oukoun hōs esti dynaton hepomenoi, kathōs phēsin ho “p.61koum, tǭ epi ta hypsēla epioibōnti, palin tēn enkeimenēn dianoian tois eirēmenois hanazētēsōmen, hōs an mathoimen poiǭ penthei prokeitai hē tou Pneumatos tou hagiou pa raklēsis. Skopēsōmen toinyn en tę̄ anthrōpinę̄ zōę̄, ti pite prōton auto to penthos esti, ka). epi tisin synistatai. Oukoun prodēlon hapasin to toiouton, an penthos esti skythrōpē diathesis tēs psychēs, epi sterētei tinos tōn katathymi‹.›n synistamenē” hoper epi tōn en euthymia diadiountōnʼsynistasthai chōran ouk echei ‘ hoion, eupranXi tis kata ton bion, panta xx": rhoun autǭ dia tōn hēdeōn ta pragmata pheretai, tę̄ gametę̄ epeuphrainetai, tois paisin hepagalletai. dia tēs tōn adelphōn symmachias ōchyrōtai, semnos kata tēn agoran, timios tois dynasteuousin, phoberos tris antitetagmenois, akataphronētos tois hypocheiriois, phxlois euprositos, ploutǭ komōn, apolaustikos, ēdÿs, alypos, sthenaros tǭ sōmati; panta echōn, hosa timia kata ton kosmon touton einai dokeiʼ ho toioutos pantōs en euphrosynę̄ hekastǭ tōn parontōn epigannymenos. Ei de tis metabolē tēs euēmerias tautēs kathapsaito, ē diazeuxin tōn philtatōn, hē zēmian tōn prosontōn, ē tina pērōsin tēs sōmatikēs euklērias, ek ponēras tinos (Iuven-xta? ‘emi'roum. tote tę̄ hypexairesei tou euphrainontos, ē enantia diathesis m ginetai, hēn penthos prosagoreuomen. oukoun alēthēs ho hapodeoomenos peri hautou logos, hoti penthos estin aisthēsis tis algeinē tēs tōn euphrainontōn sterēseōs. Ei dē nenoētai hēmin to anthrōpinon penthos, genesthō tis hodēgia tōn agnooumenōn ta prodēla, hōs an phaneron genoito, ti ty makarizomenon esti penthos, epakolouthei ē paraklēsis. Ei gar ē tōn prosontōn agathōn sterēsis entautha ty penthos poiei, ouk an de tis tou agnooumenou tēn zēmian apolophyraito; gnōnai prosēkei proteron auto to agathon, ho te pote esti kata alētheian, heithʼ houtōs tēn anthrōpinēn physin katanoēsai. Dia gar touto symbēsetai to makarizomenon penthos katorthōthēnai. Oion gar stin epi tōn en skotǭ bioteuontōn, hotan ho min en; techthę̄ tǭ zophǭ, ho de tę̄ apolausei tou exō phōtos syneithismenos, ex epēreias tinos katakleistos genētai, ouch homoiōs amphoterōn hētōn parontōn kathexptetai symphora (ho men gar eidōs hou esterētai, bareian poieitai tou phōtos tēn zēmian; o de mēde holōs egnōkōs tēn toiautēn charin, alypōs diaÿiōsetai, dia tēn trophiai) tou zophou mēdenos ekpeptōke nai tōn agathōn logizomenos ’ ek de toutou ton men hē epithymia tēs tou phōtos apolauseōs, eis pasan axei mēchanēn kai epinoian tou palin idein hou ex epēreias apesterēthē; hode katagēraeei tǭ zophiei diabiōn, dia to mē egnōkenai to beltion, agathon eautǭ to paron krinōn) ; houtō kai epi tou prok?i?.ienou noēmatos. ho ty alēthōs agathon katidein ischysas, epeita
— if the grace of the Comforter has been allotted only to those who repent? For “blessed,” he says, “are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” So, following as far as we can, as Habakkuk says, the one who sets us on the high places, let us seek again the meaning that lies in the words, so as to learn to what kind of mourning the comfort of the Holy Spirit is promised. Let us consider, then, what mourning itself first is in human life, and from what causes it arises. It is plain to all that mourning is a gloomy disposition of the soul, arising from the loss of something desired; and it has no room to arise in those who live in cheerfulness. Suppose someone prospers in life: everything flows his way through pleasant things; he delights in his wife and exults in his children; he is fortified by the support of his brothers; he is respected in the marketplace, honoured by the powerful, feared by his opponents, not despised by those under him, approachable to his friends, flourishing in wealth, enjoying life, pleasant, free of grief, strong in body, having everything that is thought honourable in this world. Such a man surely rejoices with gladness in each of his present goods. But if some change touches this prosperity — separation from his dearest, or loss of his possessions, or some maiming of his bodily good fortune — from some evil …, then, when what gladdened him is taken away, the opposite disposition arises, which we call mourning. So the account given of it is true: mourning is a painful sensation of the loss of things that gladden. If, then, we have understood human mourning, let what is plain be our guide to what is unknown, so that it may become clear what the blessed mourning is, on which comfort follows. If here the loss of goods we had produces mourning, and no one would lament the loss of what he does not know, one must first know the good itself, what it truly is, and then understand human nature; for in this way the blessed mourning will be achieved. Consider those who live in darkness. One was born in the gloom; another, accustomed to enjoying the light outside, has been shut in by some injury. The misfortune does not affect both alike. The one, knowing what he has been deprived of, feels the loss of the light heavily; the other, never having known such a grace, will live without grief, reckoning, because he was brought up in the gloom, that he has lost no good thing. As a result, desire for the enjoyment of light will drive the first to every device and contrivance to see again what he was deprived of by injury, while the second grows old living in the gloom, judging what he has to be good because he has not known the better. So it is with the meaning before us. Whoever has been able to perceive the truly good, and then
Chapter 1225
1225PG 44:1225a–1225d
τὴν πτωχείαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως κατανοήσας, ὲν συμφορᾷ τὴν ψυχὴν πάντως ἕξει, τῷ μὴ εἶναι ὲν τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἐκείνῳ τὸν παρόντα βίον, πένθος ποιούμενος.“ Οὐκοῦν οὐ τὴν λύπην μοι δοκεῖ μακαρίζειν ὁ Λόγος, ἀλλά τὴν εἴδησιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, rb τῆς λύπης πάθος ὲπισυμὸαίνει, διὰ rb μὴ παρεῖναι τῷ βίῳ τὸ ’Δκόλουθον τοίνυν ἐξετάσαι τί ποτε ἄρα ἐστὶν ἐκεῖνο τὸ φῶςο, ᾧ rb ζοφῶδες τοῦτο τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως σπήλαιον ὲν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ οὑ καταυγά- (erat. Ἦ τάχα, οὑ πρὸς rb ἀνήνυτόν τε καὶ ἀκατάληπτον ή ἐπιθυμία βλέπει ; Τίς γάρ ἐν ἡμῖν λογισμὸς τοιοῦτος, ὡς ἀνιχνεῦσαι τοῦ ζητουμένου τὴν φύσιν; Τίς ἐξ ὀνομάτων τε καὶ ῥημάτων σημασία τοιαύτη, ὡς ἀξίαν ἡμῖν ἔννοιαν τοῦ ὑπερκειμένου φωτὸς ἐμποιῆσαι; Πῶς ὀνομάσω rb ἀθέατον; Πῶς παραστήσω rb eam; Πῶς δείξω rb ἀειδές; πῶς διαλάόω τὸ ἀμέγεθες, rb ἄποσον, rb ἄποιον, rb ἀσχημάτιστον ; rb μήτε τόπῳ, μήτε χρόνῳ εὑρισκόμενον; rb ἐξώτερον παντδς περασμοῦ, καὶ πάσης όριστικῆς φανταο σίας; οὗ ἔργον ζωὴ, καὶ ἡ πάντων τῶν κατὰ rb ἀγαθὸν νοουμένων ὑπόστασιςς περὶ ὃ πᾶν ὑψηλὸν νόημά τε καὶ ὄνομα θεωρεῖται; θεότης, βασιλεία, δύναμις, ἀϊδιότης, ἀφθαρσία, χαρά τε καί ἀγαλλίαμα, καὶ πᾶν ὅτι πέρ ἔστιν ὲν ὕψει νοούμενόν τε καὶ λεγόμενον; Πῶς τοίνυν ἔστι καὶ διὰ ποίων λογισμῶν rb τοιοῦτον ἡμῶν ἀγαθὸν ὑπʼ ὄψιν ἐλθεῖν, rb θεώμενον καὶ μὴ βλεπόμενον ; Τὸ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι rb εἶναι παρεχόμενον; αὐτὸ δὲ ἀεὶ ὃν, καὶ τοῦ γενέσθαι οὐ προσδεόμενον; Ἀλλʼ ὡς ἂν μὴ μάτην ὁ λόγος κάμνοι τοῖς ἀχωρήτοις ἑαυτὸν ὲπεκτείνων, τῶν μὲν ὑπερκειμένων ἀγαθῶν τὴν φύσιν, ὡς ἀμήχανον ὃν rb τοιοῦτον ὑπὸ κατάληψιν ἐλθεῖν, πολυπραγμονοῦντες παυσώμεθα, τοσοῦτον μόνον ὲκ τῶν ζητηθέντων κερδάναντες, ὅσον διʼ αὑτοῦ τοῦ μὴ δυνηθῆναι κατιδεῖν rb ζητούμενον, ἔννοιάν τινα τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν ζητουμένων ἀνατυπώσασθαι. Ὀσῳ δὲ τῆς γνώσεως ἡμῶν ὑψηλότερον εἶναι rb ἀγαθὸν τῇ φύσει πιστεύομεν, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον τὸ πένθος ὲν αὑτοῖς ἐπιτείνωμεν, ὅτι τοιοῦτόν ἔστι καὶ τοσοῦτον rb ἀγαθὸν, οὗ διεζευγμένοι τυγχάνομεν, ὡς μηδὲ τὴν γνῶσιν αὑτοῦ χωρεῖν δύνασθαι. Τούτου μέντοι τοῦ ὑπεραίροντος πᾶσαν δύναμιν καταληπτικὴν, ὲν μετουσίᾳ ποτὲ ἦμεν οί ἄνθρωποι· καὶ τοσοῦτον ἦν ὲν τῇ φύσει ἡμῶν ἐκεῖνο rb ἀγαθὸν τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν νόημα, ὡς ἄλλο έκεῖνο rb ἀνθρώπινον εἶναι δοκεῖν, τῇ ἀκριβεστάτη ὁμοιώσει κατά τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ πρωτοτύπου μεμορφωμένον. "A γάρ νῦν περὶ ἐκείνου στοχαστικῶς θεωροῦμεν, ταῦτα πάντα καὶ περὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἦν, ἀφθαρσίᾳ τε καὶ μακαριότητι· xui rb αὐτοκρατὲς καὶ rb ἀδέσποτον, τό τε ἄλυπον καὶ
tēn ptōcheian tēs anthrōpinēs physeōs katanoēsas, en symphorą tēn psychēn pantōs hexei, tǭ mē einai en tǭ agathǭ ekeinǭ ton paronta bion, penthos poioumenos.“ Oukoun ou tēn lypēn moi dokei makarizein ho Logos, alla tēn eidēsin tou agathou, rb tēs lypēs pathos episymoainei, dia rb mē pareinai tǭ biǭ to ’Dkolouthon toinyn exetasai ti pote ara estin ekeino to phōso, hǭ rb zophōdes touto tēs anthrōpinēs physeōs spēlaion en tǭ paronti biǭ hou katauga- (erat. Ē tacha, hou pros rb anēnyton te kai akatalēpton ē epithymia blepei ? Tis gar en hēmin logismos toioutos, hōs anichneusai tou zētoumenou tēn physin? Tis ex onomatōn te kai rhēmatōn sēmasia toiautē, hōs axian hēmin ennoian tou hyperkeimenou phōtos empoiēsai? Pōs onomasō rb atheaton? Pōs parastēsō rb eam? Pōs deixō rb aeides? pōs dialaoō to amegethes, rb aposon, rb apoion, rb aschēmatiston ? rb mēte topǭ, mēte chronǭ heuriskomenon? rb exōteron pantds perasmou, kai pasēs oristikēs phantao sias? hou ergon zōē, kai hē pantōn tōn kata rb agathon nooumenōn hypostasiss peri ho pan hypsēlon noēma te kai onoma theōreitai? theotēs, basileia, dynamis, aïdiotēs, aphtharsia, chara te kai agalliama, kai pan hoti per estin en hypsei nooumenon te kai legomenon? Pōs toinyn esti kai dia poiōn logismōn rb toiouton hēmōn agathon hypʼ opsin elthein, rb theōmenon kai mē blepomenon ? To pasi tois ousi rb einai parechomenon? auto de aei hon, kai tou genesthai ou prosdeomenon? Allʼ hōs an mē matēn ho logos kamnoi tois achōrētois heauton epekteinōn, tōn men hyperkeimenōn agathōn tēn physin, hōs amēchanon hon rb toiouton hypo katalēpsin elthein, polypragmonountes pausōmetha, tosouton monon ek tōn zētēthentōn kerdanantes, hoson diʼ hautou tou mē dynēthēnai katidein rb zētoumenon, ennoian tina tou megethous tōn zētoumenōn anatypōsasthai. Osǭ de tēs gnōseōs hēmōn hypsēloteron einai rb agathon tę̄ physei pisteuomen, tosoutǭ mallon to penthos en hautois epiteinōmen, hoti toiouton esti kai tosouton rb agathon, hou diezeugmenoi tynchanomen, hōs mēde tēn gnōsin hautou chōrein dynasthai. Toutou mentoi tou hyperairontos pasan dynamin katalēptikēn, en metousią pote ēmen oi anthrōpoi; kai tosouton ēn en tę̄ physei hēmōn ekeino rb agathon to hyper pan noēma, hōs allo ekeino rb anthrōpinon einai dokein, tę̄ akribestatē homoiōsei kata tēn eikona tou prōtotypou memorphōmenon. "A gar nyn peri ekeinou stochastikōs theōroumen, tauta panta kai peri ton anthrōpon ēn, aphtharsią te kai makariotēti; xui rb autokrates kai rb adespoton, to te alypon kai
has understood the poverty of human nature, will certainly have his soul in misfortune, mourning that the present life is not in that good. So it seems to me that the Word blesses not grief itself, but the knowledge of the good, on which the feeling of grief follows because the good is not present in this life … It follows, then, to examine what that light is by which this gloomy cave of human nature is not lit in the present life. Or perhaps the desire looks toward what is beyond attainment and comprehension? For what reasoning in us is able to track down the nature of what is sought? What meaning of names and words is able to produce in us a worthy notion of the light that is beyond? How shall I name the unseen? How shall I present the incomprehensible? How shall I show what has no form? How shall I grasp what has no size, no quantity, no quality, no shape — what is found neither in place nor in time, what lies beyond every limit and every defining image; whose work is life and the substance of all that is understood as good; around which every lofty thought and name is contemplated: godhead, kingship, power, eternity, incorruption, joy and exultation, and whatever is understood and spoken of in the heights? How, then, and by what reasonings, can such a good come within our sight, which is beheld and not seen, which gives being to all things that are, but itself always is and has no need of coming to be? But so that our discourse may not labour in vain, stretching itself toward what cannot be contained, let us stop prying into the nature of the transcendent goods, since it is impossible for such a thing to come within comprehension. Let us gain only this much from our inquiry: that through our very inability to perceive what we seek, we form some notion of the greatness of what we seek. And the more we believe the good to be by nature higher than our knowledge, the more let us intensify our mourning, because the good from which we have been separated is such and so great that we cannot even contain the knowledge of it. Yet we human beings once shared in this good that surpasses every power of comprehension. That good, beyond every thought, was so present in our nature that the human seemed to be a second such good, formed by the most exact likeness to the image of the prototype. For all the things we now contemplate by conjecture about that good were also present in man: incorruption and blessedness, self-rule and freedom from any master, a life free of grief and
Chapter 1227
1227PG 44:1228a–1228b
12ῗὸ ιπραγμάτευτον τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ὴ ἐν θειοτάροις διαγωγή ' καὶ τὺ γυμνῇ τε καὶ καθαρᾷ παντὸς προκαλύμματος τῇ διανοίᾳ πρὸς τὺ ἀγαθὸν βλέπειν. Ταῦτα γάρ πάντα διʼ ὀλίγων ῥημάτων ό τῆς κοσμστὲνείας ἡμῖν ὑπαινίττεται λόγος, κατʼ εἰκόνα Θεοῦ λέγων πεπλάσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ζῇν. καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ πεφυτευμένων κατατρυφᾷν. Τῶν δὲ φυτῶν ἐκείνων καρπὸς,’ζωὴ καὶ γνῶσις καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτά ἐστιν. Ei δὲ ταῦτα ἐν ἡμῖν ἦν, πῶς οὖν ἐστι διὰ ουτκρίσεως ἀντιπαραθεωροῦντα τῇ τότε μακαριότητι τὴν παροῦσαν νῦν ἀθλιότητα, μὴ ἐπιστενάζειν τῇ συμφορᾷο τὸ ὑψηλὸν τεταπείνωται ο τὺ κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου γενόμενον, ἀπεγεώθη ο τὸ βασιλεύειν τεταγμένον, κατεδουλώθη· τὸ εἰς ἀθανασίαν κτισθὲν, κατεφθάρη θανάτῳς τὸ ἐν τρυφῇ τοῦ παραδείσου διάγον, εἰς τὸ νοσῶδες καὶ ἐπίπονον τοῦτο μετῳκίσθη χωρίονʼ τὸ τῇ ἀπαθείᾳ σύντροφον. τὸν ἐμπαθῆ καὶ ἐπίκηρον ἀντηλλάξατο βίον ” τὸ ἀδέσποτόν τε καὶ αὐτεξούσιον, νῦν ὑπὸ τοιούτων καὶ τοσούτων κακῶν κυριεύεται, ὡς μηδὲ ρᾁιον εἶναι τοὺς τυράννους ὴμῶν ἀπαριθμήσασθαι. ’Ἐκαστον γὰρ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν παθῶν, ὅταν ἐπικρατήσῃ, δεσπότης τοῦ δουλωθέντος γίνεται “ καὶ καθάπερ τις τύραννος καταλαῦὼν τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, διʼ αὐτῶν τῶν ὑποχειρίων κακοῖ τὸ ὑπήκοον, ὑπηρέταις τοῖς ἡμετέροις λογισμοῖς πρδς τὸ δοκοῦν ἐαυτῷ καταχρώμενος · οὕτως ό θυμὸς, οὕτως ό φόβος, ἡ δειλία, τὸ θράσος, τὸ κατά λύπην τε καὶ τὸ καθʼ,ἡδονὴν πάθος, μῖσος, ἔρις, ἀνέλεος.. ἀπήνεια, φθόνος, κολακεία, μνησικακία τε καὶ ἀναλγησία, καὶ πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὸ ἐναντίον ἐν ἡμῖν νοούμενα πάθη, τυράννων ἐστί τινων καὶ δεσποτῶν ἀπαρίθμησις, τῶν πρὸς τὺ ῐδιον κράτος τὴν ψυχὴν οἷόν τινα δορυάλωτον καταδουλούντων. El δέ τις καὶ τὰς περὶ τὸ σῶμα συμφορὰς ἀναλογίζοιτο, τάς τῇ φύσει ἡμῶν συμπεπλεγμένας τε καί συστρεφομένας, τὰς ποικίλας λέγω καὶ πολυτρόπους τῶν νοσημάτων ἰδέας, ὧν πάντων τὸ κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἀπείρατον ἦν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, πολὺ μᾶλλον πλεονάσει ob δάκρυον, ἐκ παραλλήλου θεωρῶν ἀντὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὰ λυπηρὰ, καὶ ἀντιπαρατιθεὶς τὰ κακά τοῖς βελτίοσιν. Τοῦτο οὖν ἔοικεν ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ διδάσκειν ό μακαρίζων τὸ πένθος, τὸ πρὸς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἀγαθὸν τὴν ψυχὴν βλέπειν, μηδὲ τῇ παρούσῃ ἀπάτῃ τοῦ βίου καταβαπτίζεσθαι· ού γὰρ ἔστιν οὔτε ἀδακρυτὶ ζῇν τὸν ἐπεσκεμμένον διʼ ἀκριβείας,τά πράγματα, οὔτε ἐν λυπηροῖς εῖναι νομίζειν τὸν ταῖς βιωτικαῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐμβαθύνοντα · καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔστιν ίδεῖν ο οἷς ἐλεεινὴ μὲν ὴ τῆς φύσεώς ἐστι κατασκευή ο (τί γὰρ ἐλεεινότερον τῆς τοῦ λόγου στερήσεως;) αἴσθησις δὲ τῆς συμφορᾶς αὐτοῖς οὐδεμία, ἀλλά κατά τινα ἡδονὴν κάκείνοις ἡ ζωὴ διεξάγεται ο καὶ ό ἵππος γαυριᾷ, καὶ ό ταῦρος κονίζεται· καὶ ό οὺς φρίσσει τὴν λοφιάν· καὶ οἱ σκύλακες παι. ζουσι, καὶ διασκιρτῶσιν οί μόσχοι. καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν ζώων ἐστιν ἰδεῖν διά τινων τεκμηρίων τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐνδεικνύμενον, οἷς εί τις κατανόησις ἦν τῆς τοῦ λόγου χάριτος, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κωφὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ταλαί· ταυρον βίον ἐν ἡδονῇ διετίθεντο. υῦτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἷς οὐδεμία τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐστι γνῶσις,
12ïo ipragmateuton tēs zōēs, kai ē en theiotarois diagōgē ' kai ty gymnę̄ te kai katharą pantos prokalymmatos tę̄ dianoią pros ty agathon blepein. Tauta gar panta diʼ oligōn rhēmatōn o tēs kosmsteneias hēmin hypainittetai logos, katʼ eikona Theou legōn peplasthai ton anthrōpon, kai en tǭ paradeisǭ zę̄n. kai tōn ekei pephyteumenōn katatryphąn. Tōn de phytōn ekeinōn karpos,’zōē kai gnōsis kai ta toiauta estin. Ei de tauta en hēmin ēn, pōs oun esti dia outkriseōs antiparatheōrounta tę̄ tote makariotēti tēn parousan nyn athliotēta, mē epistenazein tę̄ symphorąo to hypsēlon tetapeinōtai o ty katʼ eikona tou epouraniou genomenon, apegeōthē o to basileuein tetagmenon, katedoulōthē; to eis athanasian ktisthen, katephtharē thanatǭs to en tryphę̄ tou paradeisou diagon, eis to nosōdes kai epiponon touto metǭkisthē chōrionʼ to tę̄ apatheią syntrophon. ton empathē kai epikēron antēllaxato bion ” to adespoton te kai autexousion, nyn hypo toioutōn kai tosoutōn kakōn kyrieuetai, hōs mēde rąion einai tous tyrannous ēmōn aparithmēsasthai. ’Ekaston gar tōn en hēmin pathōn, hotan epikratēsę̄, despotēs tou doulōthentos ginetai “ kai kathaper tis tyrannos katalauōn tēs psychēs tēn akropolin, diʼ autōn tōn hypocheiriōn kakoi to hypēkoon, hypēretais tois hēmeterois logismois prds to dokoun eautǭ katachrōmenos ; houtōs o thymos, houtōs o phobos, hē deilia, to thrasos, to kata lypēn te kai to kathʼ,hēdonēn pathos, misos, eris, aneleos.. apēneia, phthonos, kolakeia, mnēsikakia te kai analgēsia, kai panta ta kata to enantion en hēmin nooumena pathē, tyrannōn esti tinōn kai despotōn aparithmēsis, tōn pros ty idion kratos tēn psychēn hoion tina doryalōton katadoulountōn. El de tis kai tas peri to sōma symphoras analogizoito, tas tę̄ physei hēmōn sympeplegmenas te kai systrephomenas, tas poikilas legō kai polytropous tōn nosēmatōn ideas, hōn pantōn to katʼ archas apeiraton ēn to anthrōpinon, poly mallon pleonasei ob dakryon, ek parallēlou theōrōn anti tōn agathōn ta lypēra, kai antiparatitheis ta kaka tois beltiosin. Touto oun eoiken en aporrētǭ didaskein o makarizōn to penthos, to pros to alēthinon agathon tēn psychēn blepein, mēde tę̄ parousę̄ apatę̄ tou biou katabaptizesthai; ou gar estin oute adakryti zę̄n ton epeskemmenon diʼ akribeias,ta pragmata, oute en lypērois einai nomizein ton tais biōtikais hēdonais embathynonta ; kathaper epi tōn alogōn to toiouton estin idein o hois eleeinē men ē tēs physeōs esti kataskeuē o (ti gar eleeinoteron tēs tou logou sterēseōs?) aisthēsis de tēs symphoras autois oudemia, alla kata tina hēdonēn kakeinois hē zōē diexagetai o kai o hippos gaurią, kai o tauros konizetai; kai o ous phrissei tēn lophian; kai hoi skylakes pai. zousi, kai diaskirtōsin oi moschoi. kai hekaston tōn zōōn estin idein dia tinōn tekmēriōn tēn hēdonēn endeiknymenon, hois ei tis katanoēsis ēn tēs tou logou charitos, ouk an ton kōphon autōn kai talai; tauron bion en hēdonę̄ dietithento. yytōs kai epi tōn anthrōpōn, hois oudemia tōn agathōn esti gnōsis,
without toil, a way of life among more divine things, and the beholding of the good with a mind bare and clean of every veil. All these the account of the world’s creation hints at for us in a few words, when it says that man was formed in the image of God, lived in paradise, and enjoyed what was planted there; and the fruit of those plants is life and knowledge and the like. If these things were ours, how can one, comparing the present misery with the blessedness of that time, not groan at the misfortune? The lofty has been humbled; what was made in the image of the heavenly has become earthly; what was appointed to reign has been enslaved; what was created for immortality has been corrupted by death; what lived in the delight of paradise has been moved to this sickly and toilsome place; what was nurtured in freedom from passion has exchanged it for a life of passion and decay; what was masterless and self-determining is now ruled by so many and such great evils that it is not easy to count our tyrants. For each of the passions within us, when it prevails, becomes the master of the one it has enslaved; and like a tyrant who seizes the citadel of the soul, it harms its subjects through those under its hand, using our reasonings as servants for whatever pleases it. So it is with anger, with fear, with cowardice and rashness, the passion of grief and of pleasure, hatred, strife, mercilessness, harshness, envy, flattery, rancour and callousness, and all the passions understood as opposed to the good within us: they are a list of tyrants and masters who enslave the soul to their own power like a captive taken by the spear. And if one reckons too the misfortunes of the body, which are interwoven and twisted together with our nature — I mean the various and manifold kinds of disease, of all of which humanity was at first without experience — his tears will flow much more abundantly, as he sees side by side griefs instead of goods, and sets the evils against the better things. This, then, is what the one who blesses mourning seems to teach in secret: that the soul should look to the true good, and not be drowned in the present deceit of life. For one who has examined things exactly cannot live without tears, nor can one who sinks deep in the pleasures of life think himself in grief. One can see this in the irrational animals. Their natural constitution is pitiable — for what is more pitiable than lacking reason? — yet they have no sense of their misfortune; their life too is passed in a kind of pleasure. The horse prances, the bull rolls in the dust, the boar bristles its crest, the puppies play, the calves skip, and each of the animals can be seen showing its pleasure by some signs. If they had any understanding of the gift of reason, they would not pass their dumb and wretched life in pleasure. So too with human beings who have no knowledge of the goods
Chapter 1229
1229PG 44:1229a–1229d
ὧν ἠ φύσις ἡμῶν ἀπεστέρηται, τούτοις καθʼ ἡδονὴι ἡ τῆς παρούσης ζωῆς διαγωγή. ’Λκολουθεῖ δὲ τῷ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἥδε σθαι, τὸ μὴ ζητεῖν τά βελτίω. '0 δὲ μὴ ζητῶν, οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τὸ μόνοις ζητοῦσι παραγενόμενον. Οὐκοῦν διὰ τοῦτο όΛόγος μαχαρίζει τὸ πένθος, οὐ διʼ ἑαυτὸ κρίνων εἶναι μακάριον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἐκείνου παραγενόμενον. Δείκνυσι δὲ τοῦ λόγου ὴ συζυγία, ὅτι τῆς πρὸς τὴν παράκλησιν ἀναφορᾶς τὸ πενθεῖν αὐτοῖς ἐστι μακάριον. Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, ol πενθοῦντες καὶ οὐκ ἔστησεν ὲν τούτῳ τὸν λόγον, ἀλλά προσέθηκεν, Ὅτι αὐτοι παρακληθήσονται. Ὃ μοι δοκεῖ προκατανενοηκὼς ὁ μέγας Μωῦσῆς (μᾶλλον δὲ, ὁ ἐν ἐκείνῳ ταῦτα διατάσσων Λόγος, ἐν ταῖς μυστικαῖς τοῦ Πάσχα παρατηρήσεσιν)· ἄζυμον μὲν αὐτοῖς ἄρτον ἐν ταῖς ἑορτασί.. μοις ἡμέραις νομοθετῆσαν ὅψονσδὲ τῇ βρώσει πικρίδας ποιήσασθαι, ὡς ἂν διά τῶν τοιούτων μάθοιμεν alνιγμάτων, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι τῆς μυστικῆς ἐκείνης ἑορτῆς μετασχεῖν ἄλλως, εί μὴ αἱ πικρίδες τοῦ βίου τούτου τῇ ἀπλῇ καὶ ἀζύμῳ ζωῇ ἑκουσίως καταμιγνύοιντο. Διά τοῦτο καὶ ό μέγας Δαβὶδ, καίτοι τὸ ἀκρότατον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης εὐκληρίας μέτρον (λέγω δὴ τὴν βασιλείαν) περὶ ἐαυτὸν βλέπων· δαψιλῶς ἐπιβάλλει τῶν πικρίδων τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ζωῇ στενάζων ἐν οἰμωγῇ, καὶ θρηνῶν τὴν παράτασιν τῆς ὲν σαρκὶ παροικίας, καὶ ἐκλείπων, ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν μειζόνων ἐπιθυμίας, φησὶν, Οἵμοι ὅτι ἠ παροικία μου ἑμακρύγθη. Ἐτέρωθι δὲ πρὸς τὸ κάλλος τῶν θείων σκηνωμάτων ἀτενὲς ἀποελέπων, ἐκλιπεῖν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας φησι, τὸ ἐν ἐσχάτοις ἐκεῖ τετάχθαι, τοῦ πρωτεύειν ἐν τοῖς παροὖσι, προτιμότερον ἐαυτῷ κρίνων. El δέ τις ἀκριβέστερον κατανοῆσαι βούλοιτο τοῦ μακαριζομένου τούτου πένθους τὴν δύναμιν, ἐπισκεψάσθω ἐαυτῷ ἐν τῷ κατά τὸν Λάζαρον καὶ τὸν πλούσιον διηγήματι, ἐν ᾧ γυμνότε ρον τὸ τοιοῦτον δόγμα ἡμῖν σαφηνίζεται. Μνήσθήτι γάρ, φησὶν ό Ἀβραὰμ πρὸς τὸν πλούσιον, ὅτι ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐντῇ ζωῇ σουʼ ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ Λάζαρος τὰ κακάʼ διὰ τοῦτο οὗτος μὲν παρακαλεῖται, σὺ δὲ ὀδυνᾶσαι. Ἔοικε γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ τῆς ἀγαθῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομίας ἀπ·έστησεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀβουλία, μᾶλλον δὲ ἡ κακοβουλίαο τοῦ γὰρ θεοῦ ἀμιγὲς τοῦ κακοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν τῇ ἀπον ηλαύσει ἡμῶν νομοθετήσαντος, καὶ καταμιγνύναι τῷ καλῷ τὴν τοῦ κακοῦ πεῖραν ἀπαγορεύσαντος, ἐπειδὴ ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ λαιμαργίας ἑκουσίως τοῦ ἐναντίου ἐνεφορήθημεν (λέγω δὲ τῆς τοῦ θείου Λόγου παρακοῆς ἀπογευσάμενοι)ο διὰ τοῦτο χρὴ πάντως ἐν ἀμφοτέροις . γενέσθαι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσινριαὶ μετασχεῖν ἓν μέρει
hōn ē physis hēmōn apesterētai, toutois kathʼ hēdonēi hē tēs parousēs zōēs diagōgē. ’Lkolouthei de tǭ tois parousin hēde sthai, to mē zētein ta beltiō. '0 de mē zētōn, ouk an heuroi to monois zētousi paragenomenon. Oukoun dia touto oLogos macharizei to penthos, ou diʼ heauto krinōn einai makarion, alla dia to ex ekeinou paragenomenon. Deiknysi de tou logou ē syzygia, hoti tēs pros tēn paraklēsin anaphoras to penthein autois esti makarion. Makarioi gar, phēsin, ol penthountes kai ouk estēsen en toutǭ ton logon, alla prosethēken, Hoti autoi paraklēthēsontai. Ho moi dokei prokatanenoēkōs ho megas Mōysēs (mallon de, ho en ekeinǭ tauta diatassōn Logos, en tais mystikais tou Pascha paratērēsesin); azymon men autois arton en tais heortasi.. mois hēmerais nomothetēsan hopsonsde tę̄ brōsei pikridas poiēsasthai, hōs an dia tōn toioutōn mathoimen alnigmatōn, hoti ouk esti tēs mystikēs ekeinēs heortēs metaschein allōs, ei mē hai pikrides tou biou toutou tę̄ aplę̄ kai azymǭ zōę̄ hekousiōs katamignyointo. Dia touto kai o megas Dabid, kaitoi to akrotaton tēs anthrōpinēs euklērias metron (legō dē tēn basileian) peri eauton blepōn; dapsilōs epiballei tōn pikridōn tę̄ heautou zōę̄ stenazōn en oimōgę̄, kai thrēnōn tēn paratasin tēs en sarki paroikias, kai ekleipōn, hypo tēs tōn meizonōn epithymias, phēsin, Hoimoi hoti ē paroikia mou hemakrygthē. Eterōthi de pros to kallos tōn theiōn skēnōmatōn atenes apoelepōn, eklipein hypo tēs epithymias phēsi, to en eschatois ekei tetachthai, tou prōteuein en tois parousi, protimoteron eautǭ krinōn. El de tis akribesteron katanoēsai bouloito tou makarizomenou toutou penthous tēn dynamin, episkepsasthō eautǭ en tǭ kata ton Lazaron kai ton plousion diēgēmati, en hǭ gymnote ron to toiouton dogma hēmin saphēnizetai. Mnēsthēti gar, phēsin o Abraam pros ton plousion, hoti apelabes ta agatha sou entę̄ zōę̄ souʼ homoiōs de kai ho Lazaros ta kakaʼ dia touto houtos men parakaleitai, sy de odynasai. Eoike gar, epeidē tēs agathēs tou Theou peri ton anthrōpon oikonomias ap;estēsen hēmas hē aboulia, mallon de hē kakobouliao tou gar theou amiges tou kakou to agathon en tę̄ apon ēlausei hēmōn nomothetēsantos, kai katamignynai tǭ kalǭ tēn tou kakou peiran apagoreusantos, epeidē hēmeis hypo laimargias hekousiōs tou enantiou enephorēthēmen (legō de tēs tou theiou Logou parakoēs apogeusamenoi)o dia touto chrē pantōs en amphoterois . genesthai tēn anthrōpinēn physinriai metaschein hen merei
of which our nature has been deprived: for them the present life is passed in pleasure. And not seeking better things follows from delighting in present ones; and whoever does not seek will not find what comes only to those who seek. That is why the Word blesses mourning, not judging it blessed in itself, but because of what comes from it. The pairing in the saying shows that mourning is blessed for them by its relation to comfort. For “blessed,” he says, “are those who mourn,” and he did not stop the saying there, but added, “for they shall be comforted.” The great Moses seems to me to have understood this beforehand — or rather the Word who ordered these things through him in the mystical observances of the Passover. He laid down unleavened bread for them on the festival days, and ordered them to take bitter herbs as the relish for the food, so that through such riddles we might learn that one cannot share in that mystical feast unless the bitter herbs of this life are freely mixed with the simple and unleavened life. Therefore the great David too, though he saw around himself the highest measure of human good fortune — I mean kingship — lavishly adds bitter herbs to his own life, groaning in lament and mourning the prolonging of his sojourn in the flesh; and fainting with desire for greater things he says, “Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged!” Elsewhere, gazing intently at the beauty of the divine tabernacles, he says he faints with desire, judging it better for himself to be placed last there than to be first among present things. If anyone wishes to understand more exactly the power of this blessed mourning, let him consider the story of Lazarus and the rich man, in which this teaching is made plainer for us. “Remember,” Abraham says to the rich man, “that you received your good things in your life, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; therefore he is comforted, and you are in anguish.” It seems that, since our ill counsel, or rather our evil counsel, removed us from God’s good ordering for humanity — for God had laid down for our enjoyment the good unmixed with evil and had forbidden us to mix experience of evil with the good, but we in our greed freely filled ourselves with the opposite (I mean, having tasted disobedience to the divine Word) — for this reason human nature must come to be in both, and share in turn
Chapter 1231
1231PG 44:1232a–1232d
τοῦ τε λυποῦντος καὶ τοῦ εὐφραίνοντος. Δύο δὲ ὄντων βίων, καὶ διπλῆς τῆς ζωῆς καθʼ ἑκάτερον τῶν βίων ἰδιαζόντως θεωρουμένης, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ εὐφροσύνης διπλῆς* τῆς μὲν ὲν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ, τῆς δὲ ὲν τῷ κατʼ ἐλπίδας ἡμῖν προκειμένῳ· μακαριστὸν ἂν εἴη τῆς εὐφροσύνης μοῖραν τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς ἀγαθοῖς είς τὸν ἀΐδιον ἀποθέσθαι βίον· τῆς δὲ λύπης ἐκπληρῶσαι τὴν λειτουργίαν ὲν τῇ βραχείᾳ ταύτῃ καὶ προσκαίρῳ ζωῇ, ζημίαν ποιούμενον, οὐ τὸ στερηθῆναί τινος τῶν κατά τὸν βίον τοῦτον ἡδέων, ἀλλά τὸ διά τῆς ἀπολαύσεως τούτων ὲν ἁποπτὼσει τῶν ἀμεινόνων γενέσθαι. Οὑκοῦν εἰ μακαριστόν ἐστιν τὸ ὲν τοῖς ἀπείροις αἰῶσιν ἀτέλεστόν τε καί εἰσαεί παρατεινομένην τὴν εὐφροσύνην ἔχειν· δεῖ δὲ πάντως γεύσασθαι καὶτῶν ἐναντίων τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν· οὐκέτι χαλεπόν ἐστι συνιδεῖν τοῦ λόγου τὸ βούλημα, διὰ τί μακάριοι οἱ νῦν πενθοῦντες, αὐτοὶ γὰρ εἰς τοὺς ἀπείρους αἰῶνας παρακληθήσονται· ἡ δὲ παράκλησις, ὲκ τῆς τοῦ Παρακλήτου μετουσίας γίνεται. Ἶδία γὰρ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐνέργεια ἡ τῆς παρακλήσεως χάρις ἐστίνʼ ἧς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀξιωθείημεν, χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ὴ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. · ΛΟΓΟΣ Δʼ. Μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες,,καί διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνηνσ ὅτι αὑτοί χορτασθήσονται. Τοὺς στομαχοῦντας καὶ κακοσίτους φασιν οξ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ἐπιστήμονες, πονηρῶν τινων χυμῶν τε καὶ περιττωμάτων ἐπὶ τὴν ἄνω γαστέρα συρρυέντων, ἀεὶ δοκεῖν ’πλήρεις τε καὶ διακορεῖς εἶναι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν ὠφέλιμον τροφὴν ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν, τῆς φυσικῆς αὐτοῖς ὀρέξεως ὲν τῇ νόθῳ πλησμονῇ μαρανθείσης. Εἰ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ἰατρικῆς ἐπιμέλεια προσαχθείη, διά τινος τμητικῆς φαρμακοποσίας ἀποκλυσθέντων τῶν ὲναπειλημμένων ταῖς τοῦ στομάχου κοιλότησιν, οὕτως συμβαίνειν, τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου μηκέτι διοχλοῦντος τὴν φύσιν, τῆς ὠφελούσης τε καὶ τροφίμου βρώσεως αὐτοῖς ἐπανιέναι τὴν δρεξιν· καὶ τοῦτο τῆς ὑγιείας εἶναι σημεῖον, τδ μηκέτι κατηναγκασμένως, ἀλλὰ μετʼ ἐπιθυμίας τε καὶ ὁρμῆς τὴν βρῶσιν προσίεσθαι, Τί οῦν μοι βούλεται τὸ προοίμιον; Ἐπειδὴ προῖὼν διʼ ἀκολουθίας ὁ πρὸς τὰ ὑψηλότερα τῆς τῶν μακαρισμῶν κλίμακος χειραγωγῶν ἡμᾶς λόγος, ὁ κατά τὴν τοῦ Προφήτου φωνὴν, τάς καλὰς ἀναβάσεις ὲν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἡμῶν διατιθέμενος, τοιαύτην ἡμῖν μετὰ τάς προδιανυσθείσας ἀνόδους τετάρτην προδείκνυσιν ἀλλην ἀνάβασιν, λέγωνʼ Μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὑ· τοι χορτασθήσονται· καλῶς ἔχειν οἶμαι, τὸ διακορές τε καὶ πλησμονικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ὲκκαθάραντας, ὡς ἐστι δυνατὸν, τῆς τοιαύτης βρώσεως τε καὶ πεδσεως τὴν μακαριστὴν ὄρεξιν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἐμποιῆσαι· γ
tou te lypountos kai tou euphrainontos. Dyo de ontōn biōn, kai diplēs tēs zōēs kathʼ hekateron tōn biōn idiazontōs theōroumenēs, hōsautōs de kai euphrosynēs diplēs* tēs men en tǭ biǭ toutǭ, tēs de en tǭ katʼ elpidas hēmin prokeimenǭ; makariston an eiē tēs euphrosynēs moiran tois alēthinois agathois eis ton aïdion apothesthai bion; tēs de lypēs ekplērōsai tēn leitourgian en tę̄ bracheią tautę̄ kai proskairǭ zōę̄, zēmian poioumenon, ou to sterēthēnai tinos tōn kata ton bion touton hēdeōn, alla to dia tēs apolauseōs toutōn en hapoptōsei tōn ameinonōn genesthai. Houkoun ei makariston estin to en tois apeirois aiōsin ateleston te kai eisaei parateinomenēn tēn euphrosynēn echein; dei de pantōs geusasthai kaitōn enantiōn tēn anthrōpinēn physin; ouketi chalepon esti synidein tou logou to boulēma, dia ti makarioi hoi nyn penthountes, autoi gar eis tous apeirous aiōnas paraklēthēsontai; hē de paraklēsis, ek tēs tou Paraklētou metousias ginetai. Idia gar tou Pneumatos energeia hē tēs paraklēseōs charis estinʼ hēs kai hēmeis axiōtheiēmen, chariti tou Kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou, hǭ ē doxa eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amēn. ; LOGOS Dʼ. Makarioi hoi peinōntes,,kai dipsōntes tēn dikaiosynēns hoti hautoi chortasthēsontai. Tous stomachountas kai kakositous phasin ox tēs iatrikēs epistēmones, ponērōn tinōn chymōn te kai perittōmatōn epi tēn anō gastera syrryentōn, aei dokein ’plēreis te kai diakoreis einai, kai dia touto pros tēn ōphelimon trophēn allotriōs echein, tēs physikēs autois orexeōs en tę̄ nothǭ plēsmonę̄ marantheisēs. Ei de tis autois ex iatrikēs epimeleia prosachtheiē, dia tinos tmētikēs pharmakoposias apoklysthentōn tōn enapeilēmmenōn tais tou stomachou koilotēsin, houtōs symbainein, tou allotriou mēketi diochlountos tēn physin, tēs ōphelousēs te kai trophimou brōseōs autois epanienai tēn drexin; kai touto tēs hygieias einai sēmeion, td mēketi katēnankasmenōs, alla metʼ epithymias te kai hormēs tēn brōsin prosiesthai, Ti oun moi bouletai to prooimion? Epeidē proiōn diʼ akolouthias ho pros ta hypsēlotera tēs tōn makarismōn klimakos cheiragōgōn hēmas logos, ho kata tēn tou Prophētou phōnēn, tas kalas anabaseis en tę̄ kardią hēmōn diatithemenos, toiautēn hēmin meta tas prodianystheisas anodous tetartēn prodeiknysin allēn anabasin, legōnʼ Makarioi hoi peinōntes kai dipsōntes tēn dikaiosynēn, hoti hau; toi chortasthēsontai; kalōs echein oimai, to diakores te kai plēsmonikon tēs psychēs ekkatharantas, hōs esti dynaton, tēs toiautēs brōseōs te kai pedseōs tēn makaristēn orexin hēmin autois empoiēsai; g
in what grieves and in what gladdens. Since there are two lives, and living is seen as twofold, belonging to each of the two lives, so too joy is twofold: one in this life, the other in the life set before us in hope. It would be blessed, then, to lay up our share of joy, in true goods, for the everlasting life, and to fulfil the service of grief in this short and passing life — counting as loss not the lack of some pleasure of this life, but falling away from better things through enjoying such pleasures. If, then, it is blessed to have joy without end, ever prolonged through infinite ages, and human nature must certainly taste the opposite as well, it is no longer hard to see the intent of the saying: why those who now mourn are blessed — for they will be comforted through the infinite ages. The comfort comes from sharing in the Comforter; for the grace of comfort is the proper work of the Spirit. May we too be deemed worthy of it, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Physicians say that those with weak stomachs and poor appetites, when bad humours and residues have flowed together into the upper part of the stomach, always seem to be full and sated, and so are averse to beneficial food, their natural appetite having withered in a false fullness. But if medical care is given them, and what is lodged in the cavities of the stomach is washed away by some sharp purgative, then, since the foreign matter no longer troubles their nature, their appetite for beneficial and nourishing food returns; and it is a sign of health when food is taken no longer under compulsion but with desire and eagerness. What do I mean by this preface? The Word, advancing in order and leading us by the hand to the higher rungs of the ladder of the Beatitudes — who, in the Prophet’s words, sets fair ascents in our heart — shows us, after the ascents already completed, a fourth ascent of this kind, saying, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” I think it right, then, after purging as far as possible the surfeit and fullness of the soul, to produce in ourselves the blessed appetite for such food and drink.
Chapter 1233
1233PG 44:1233a–1233d
οὔτε γὰρ ίσχύσαι δυνατόν ἐστι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, μὴ τῆς ἀρκούσης τροφῆς ύποστηριζούσης τὴν δύναμιν, οὔτε δίχι τοῦ φαγεῖν ἐμπλησθῆναι τροφῆς, οὕτε τραφῆναι χωρὶς ὀρέξεως. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀγαθόν τι κατὰ τὴν ζωήν ἐστιν ἠ δύναμιςʼ αὕτη δὲ τῷ ἀρκοῦντι συντηρεῖται κόρῳ· ὁ δὲ κόρος διὰ βρώσεως γίνεται· τὸ δὲ φαγεῖν ἐξ ὀρέξεωςο μακαριστὸν ἂν εἴη τοῖς ζῶσιν ἡ ὄρεξις, ἀρχή τε καὶ αἰτία τῆς ὲν ἡμῖν γινομένη δυνάμεως. Ὥσπερ δὲ κατὰ-τὴν αἰσθητὴν ταύτην τὴν τροφὴν ἔχομεν, ού τῶν αὐτῶν πάντες ἐφίενται, ἀλλὰ μερίζεται πολλάκις πρρς τὰ είδη τῶν ἐδωδίμωνή τῶν μετεχόντων ἐπιθυμία, καὶ ὁ μέν τις ἐπιτέρπεται τοῖς γλυκαίνουσιν, ἄλλος πρὸς τά δριμύσσοντά τε καὶ Θερμαίνοντα τὴν ὁρμὴν ἔχει· ἕτερος δέ τοῖς ἁλμώδεσι, καὶ ἄλλος τοῖς παραστύφουσιν ἥδεται συμβαίνει δὲ πολλάκις μὴ κατὰ τὸ λυσιτελοῦν ἐγγίνεσθαι τὴν ὁρμὴν ἑκάστῳ τῆς βρώσεως (κατὰ γάρ τινα κράσεως κ ἰδιότητα πρός τι πάθος ἐπιρῤεπῶς τις ἔχων, τρέφει τὴν νόσον τῇ τῶν κατʼ ἀλλήλων βρωμάτων ποιότητι ο εί δὲ πρὸς τά ὠφελοῦντα τὴν ὁρμὴν σχοίη, πάντως ὲν ὑγιείᾳ βιώσεται, τῆς τροφῆς αὑτῷ συντηρούσης τὴν εὐεξίαν)· οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τροφῆς ού πάντων πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ ῥέπουσιν αἱ ἐπιθυμίαι. Οί μὲν γὰρ δόξης, ἢ πλούτου, fl τινος κοσμικῆς περιφανείας ὀρέγονται, ἄλλοις περὶ τὴν τράπεζαν ἄσχολός ἐστιν ἡ ὄρεξις, ἐτεροι τὸν φθόνον, ὥς τινα δηλητηριώδη τροφὴν προθύμως ἀναλαμβάνουσιν εἰσὶν δέ τινες οἷς τὸ τῇ φύσει καλὸν ἐν ὀρέξει γίνεται. Φύσει δὲ καλὸν ἀεὶ καὶ πᾶσι τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὃ μὴ ἄλλου τινος ἕνεκέν ἐστιν αἱρετὸν, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸ διʼ ἑαυτὸ ἐπιθυμητὸν, ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχον, καὶ οὐδέποτε άμβλυνόμενον κόρω. Διὰ τοῦτο C' μακαρίζει ὁ Λόγος ού τοὺς ἁπλῶς πεινῶντας, ἀλλʼ οἷς πρὸς τὴν ἀληθῆ δικαιοσύνην ἡ ἐπιθυμία τὴν ῥοπὴν ἔχει.
oute gar ischysai dynaton esti ton anthrōpon, mē tēs arkousēs trophēs ypostērizousēs tēn dynamin, oute dichi tou phagein emplēsthēnai trophēs, houte traphēnai chōris orexeōs. Epei oun agathon ti kata tēn zōēn estin ē dynamisʼ hautē de tǭ arkounti syntēreitai korǭ; ho de koros dia brōseōs ginetai; to de phagein ex orexeōso makariston an eiē tois zōsin hē orexis, archē te kai aitia tēs en hēmin ginomenē dynameōs. Hōsper de kata-tēn aisthētēn tautēn tēn trophēn echomen, ou tōn autōn pantes ephientai, alla merizetai pollakis prrs ta eidē tōn edōdimōnē tōn metechontōn epithymia, kai ho men tis epiterpetai tois glykainousin, allos pros ta drimyssonta te kai Thermainonta tēn hormēn echei; heteros de tois halmōdesi, kai allos tois parastyphousin hēdetai symbainei de pollakis mē kata to lysiteloun enginesthai tēn hormēn hekastǭ tēs brōseōs (kata gar tina kraseōs k idiotēta pros ti pathos epirrepōs tis echōn, trephei tēn noson tę̄ tōn katʼ allēlōn brōmatōn poiotēti o ei de pros ta ōphelounta tēn hormēn schoiē, pantōs en hygieią biōsetai, tēs trophēs hautǭ syntērousēs tēn euexian); houtōs kai epi tēs psychēs trophēs ou pantōn pros to auto rhepousin hai epithymiai. Oi men gar doxēs, ē ploutou, fl tinos kosmikēs periphaneias oregontai, allois peri tēn trapezan ascholos estin hē orexis, eteroi ton phthonon, hōs tina dēlētēriōdē trophēn prothymōs analambanousin eisin de tines hois to tę̄ physei kalon en orexei ginetai. Physei de kalon aei kai pasi touto estin, ho mē allou tinos heneken estin haireton, allʼ auto diʼ heauto epithymēton, aei hōsautōs echon, kai oudepote amblynomenon korō. Dia touto C' makarizei ho Logos ou tous haplōs peinōntas, allʼ hois pros tēn alēthē dikaiosynēn hē epithymia tēn rhopēn echei.
For a person cannot be strong unless sufficient food supports his strength, nor be filled with food without eating, nor be nourished without appetite. Since strength is a good thing in life, and strength is preserved by sufficient fullness, and fullness comes through eating, and eating from appetite, appetite would be a blessed thing for the living, as the beginning and cause of the strength that arises in us. But with this perceptible food, not everyone desires the same things; the desire of those who eat is often divided among the kinds of food. One delights in sweet things; another has an impulse toward pungent and warming things; another enjoys salty foods, another astringent ones. It often happens that each person’s impulse toward food does not arise in accordance with what is profitable: someone inclined to some disease by a peculiarity of temperament feeds the disease by the opposing qualities of his foods, whereas if his impulse were toward what benefits him, he would surely live in health, the food preserving his good condition. So too with the food of the soul: the desires of all do not incline toward the same thing. Some long for glory, or wealth, or some worldly distinction; for others appetite is busy with the table; others eagerly take up envy like some poisonous food; but there are some in whom what is good by nature becomes the object of desire. What is good by nature, always and for all, is that which is chosen not for the sake of anything else but is desirable for its own sake, always the same and never blunted by satiety. Therefore the Word blesses not those who simply hunger, but those whose desire inclines toward true righteousness.
Chapter 1235
1235PG 44:1236a–1236b
Ξρχων, καὶ ἐθνῶν βασιλεὺς, εἰ καταλλήλως ἡγοῖτο τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ἕκαστος τούτων, μὴ ὁρμαῖς am γοις ὑπʼ ἐξουσίας κινούμενος, ἀλλʼ εὑθύτητι τὸ ὑπήκοον κρίνων, καὶ πρὸς τὰς προαιρέσεις τῶν ὑποχειρίων τῇ γνώμῃ συναρμοζόμενος· πάντα τά τοιαῦτα τῷ λόγῳ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀνατιθέασιν, οἱ τῇ τοιαύτῃ ἔξει τὸ δίκαιον ὁριζόμενοι. Ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς οιζὸ ὕψος βλέπων τῆς Θείας νομοθεσίας, πλέον τιτῶν εἰρημένων ὲν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ ταύτῃ νοεῖσθαι στοχάζομαι. Εί γὰρ κοινὸς μὲν πρὸς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν 6 σωτήριος λόγος, οὐ παντὸς δέ ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου τὸ ὲν τοῖς εἰρημένοις εἷναι (ὀλίγων γὰρ τὸ βασιλεύειν, τὸ ἄρχειν, τὸ δικάζειν, τὸ ὲν ἐξουσίᾳ χρημάτων, ἡ τινος ἄλλης οἰκονομίας γενέσθαι· τὸ δὲ πλῆθος ὲν τοῖς ὑποχειρίοις τε καὶ οίκονομουμένοις ὲστίν)’ πῶς ἄν τις δέξαιτο τὴν ἀληθῆ δικαιοσύνην ἐκείνην εἶναι, ἢ μὴ πᾶσι πρόκειται ὁμοτίμως τῇ φύσεις El γάρ 6 σκοπὸς τῷ δικαίῳ κατά τοὺς ἔξωθεν λόγους τὺ ἴσον ἐστίνʼ ἡ δὲ ὑπεροχὴ τὸ ἄνισον ἔχει· οὑκ ἔστι τὸν ἀποδεδομένον τῆς δικαιοσύνης λόγον ἀληθῆ νομίσαι, εὐθὺς τῷ κατά τὸν βίον ἀνίσῳ διελεγχόμενον. Τίς οὖν ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἠ είς πάντας φθάνουσα; Ἷ-Ῑς ἡ ἐπιθυμία κοινὴ πρόκειται παντὶ τῷ κατά τὴν εὑαγγελικὴν τράπεζαν βλέποντιʼ κᾶν πλούσιός τις ᾖ, κᾶν πένης, κᾶν δουλεύῃ, κᾶν κυριεύῃ, κᾶν εὐπατρίδης, κᾶν ἀργυρώνητος, οὐδεμιᾶς περιστάσεως, οὔτε πλεοναζούσης, οὔτε ὑποστελλούσης τοῦ δικαίου τὸν λόγον. Et γὰρ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ προήκοντι κατʼ ἐξουσίαν τινὰ καὶ ὑπεροχὴν τὸ τοιοῦτον εὑρίσκοιτο· πῶς δίκαιος 6 τῷ πυλῶνι τοῦ πλουσίου παρερριμμένος Λάζαρος, 6 μηδεμίαν ὓλην πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην δικαιοσύνην ἔχων, οὑκ ἀρχὴν, οὑκ ἐξουσίαν, οὑκ οἷκον, οὑ τράπεζαν, οὑκ ἀλλην τινὰ πρὸς τὸν βίον παρασκευὴν, διʼ ἧς ἐστι τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐκείνην ἐργάζεσθαι; Et γὰρ ὲν τῷ ἄρχειν, ἢ διανέμειν, ἧ τι ὅλως οἰκονομεῖν τὸ δίκαιόν ἐστιν εἶναι, 6 μὴ ὢν ὲν ἐκείνοις, ἔξω τοῦ δικαίου πάντως ἐστίν. Πῶς οὖν ἀξιοῦται τῆς ἀναπαύσεως 6 μηδὲν ἐσχηκὼς τούτων, διʼ ὧνὴ δικαιοσύνη κατὰ τὸν τῶν πολλῶν λόγον χαρακτηρίζεται. οὐκοῦν ζητητέα ἡμῖν ή δικαιοσύνη εκείνη, ἧς 6 ἐπιθυμήσας ὲν ἐπαγγελία τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἔχει. Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησιν, οἱ πεινῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται. Πολλῶν καὶ παντοδαπῶν προκειμένων εἰς μετουσίαν, ἐφʼ ἃ. ὴ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις τὴν ὀρεκτικὴν ὁρμὴν ἕχει, πολλῆς ἡμῖν χρεία τῆς ἐπιστήμης, ὥστε ἡμῖν διακρίνειν ὲν τοῖς τοιούτοις ὲδωδίμοις τὸ τρόφιμον τε καὶ δηλητήριον, ὼς ἂν μὴ τὸ δοκοῦν ὑπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ὲν τροφῆς μέρει παραλαμβάνεσθαι, θάνατον ἡμῖν καὶ διαφθορὰν ἀντὶ τῆς ζωῆς ὲνεργήσειεν. υὺκ ἀκαιρον δὲ ἴσως, διά τινος ἐτέρου τῶν κατά τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον ζητουμένων, τὴν περὶ τούτου διαρθρῶσαι διάνοιαν. Ὀ κατὰ πάντα κοινωνήσας ἡμῖν χωρὶς ἁμαρτίεις,
Xrchōn, kai ethnōn basileus, ei katallēlōs hēgoito tōn hypotetagmenōn hekastos toutōn, mē hormais am gois hypʼ exousias kinoumenos, allʼ heuthytēti to hypēkoon krinōn, kai pros tas proaireseis tōn hypocheiriōn tę̄ gnōmę̄ synarmozomenos; panta ta toiauta tǭ logǭ tēs dikaiosynēs anatitheasin, hoi tę̄ toiautę̄ exei to dikaion horizomenoi. Egō de pros oizo hypsos blepōn tēs Theias nomothesias, pleon titōn eirēmenōn en tę̄ dikaiosynę̄ tautę̄ noeisthai stochazomai. Ei gar koinos men pros pasan tēn anthrōpinēn physin 6 sōtērios logos, ou pantos de estin anthrōpou to en tois eirēmenois heinai (oligōn gar to basileuein, to archein, to dikazein, to en exousią chrēmatōn, hē tinos allēs oikonomias genesthai; to de plēthos en tois hypocheiriois te kai oikonomoumenois estin)’ pōs an tis dexaito tēn alēthē dikaiosynēn ekeinēn einai, ē mē pasi prokeitai homotimōs tę̄ physeis El gar 6 skopos tǭ dikaiǭ kata tous exōthen logous ty ison estinʼ hē de hyperochē to anison echei; houk esti ton apodedomenon tēs dikaiosynēs logon alēthē nomisai, euthys tǭ kata ton bion anisǭ dielenchomenon. Tis oun hē dikaiosynē ē eis pantas phthanousa? Hi-Is hē epithymia koinē prokeitai panti tǭ kata tēn heuangelikēn trapezan blepontiʼ kan plousios tis ę̄, kan penēs, kan douleuę̄, kan kyrieuę̄, kan eupatridēs, kan argyrōnētos, oudemias peristaseōs, oute pleonazousēs, oute hypostellousēs tou dikaiou ton logon. Et gar en monǭ tǭ proēkonti katʼ exousian tina kai hyperochēn to toiouton heuriskoito; pōs dikaios 6 tǭ pylōni tou plousiou parerrimmenos Lazaros, 6 mēdemian hylēn pros tēn toiautēn dikaiosynēn echōn, houk archēn, houk exousian, houk hoikon, hou trapezan, houk allēn tina pros ton bion paraskeuēn, diʼ hēs esti tēn dikaiosynēn ekeinēn ergazesthai? Et gar en tǭ archein, ē dianemein, hē ti holōs oikonomein to dikaion estin einai, 6 mē ōn en ekeinois, exō tou dikaiou pantōs estin. Pōs oun axioutai tēs anapauseōs 6 mēden eschēkōs toutōn, diʼ hōnē dikaiosynē kata ton tōn pollōn logon charaktērizetai. oukoun zētētea hēmin ē dikaiosynē ekeinē, hēs 6 epithymēsas en epangelia tēn apolausin echei. Makarioi gar, phēsin, hoi peinōntes tēn dikaiosynēn hoti autoi chortasthēsontai. Pollōn kai pantodapōn prokeimenōn eis metousian, ephʼ ha. ē anthrōpinē physis tēn orektikēn hormēn hechei, pollēs hēmin chreia tēs epistēmēs, hōste hēmin diakrinein en tois toioutois edōdimois to trophimon te kai dēlētērion, ōs an mē to dokoun hypo tēs psychēs en trophēs merei paralambanesthai, thanaton hēmin kai diaphthoran anti tēs zōēs energēseien. yyk akairon de isōs, dia tinos eterou tōn kata to Euangelion zētoumenōn, tēn peri toutou diarthrōsai dianoian. O kata panta koinōnēsas hēmin chōris hamartieis,
… ruler, and king of nations: if each of these leads his subjects fittingly, not moved by unreasoning impulses because of his power, but judging his subjects with uprightness and adapting his judgment to the choices of those under him — all such things are attributed to the account of justice by those who define justice as such a habit. But I, looking to the height of the divine legislation, conjecture that something more than what has been said is to be understood in this righteousness. For if the saving word is common to all human nature, while not every person is in the positions mentioned — for ruling as king, governing, judging, being in charge of money or some other administration belongs to few, and the multitude is among those who are ruled and administered — how could anyone accept as true righteousness something that is not set before all equally by nature? For if the aim of the just, according to the outside teachers, is equality, and preeminence involves inequality, the account they give of justice cannot be thought true, since it is at once refuted by the inequality in life. What, then, is the righteousness that reaches all? It is the one whose desire is set before all in common who look to the table of the Gospel — whether one is rich or poor, slave or master, nobly born or bought with money — no circumstance either enlarging or lessening the account of what is right. For if such a thing were found only in one who has advanced to some authority and preeminence, how was Lazarus righteous, lying at the rich man’s gate? He had no material for such justice: no office, no authority, no house, no table, nor any other means in life by which that justice can be practised. If justice consists in ruling, or distributing, or administering anything at all, one who is in none of these is certainly outside justice. How, then, is he deemed worthy of rest, who had none of the things by which justice is characterized in the account of the many? So we must seek that righteousness whose enjoyment the one who desires it holds in promise. For “blessed,” he says, “are those who hunger for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Since many and various things are set before us to share in, toward which human nature has its impulse of appetite, we need much knowledge to distinguish among such foods what nourishes and what poisons, lest what the soul seems to take as food should work death and corruption in us instead of life. Perhaps it is not untimely to articulate the meaning of this through another of the questions in the Gospel. He who shared all things with us apart from sin,
Chapter 1237
1237PG 44:1237a–1237b
καὶ συμμετασχὼν ἡμῖν τῶν αὐτῶν παθημάτων, τὴν πεῖναν ούκ ἔκρινεν ἁμαρτίαν, οὐδὲ ἀπώσατο τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πείρας τὸ κατʼ αὐτὴν πάθος, ἀλλʼ ἐδέξατο τὴν ὀρεκτικὴν ὁρμὴν τῆς φύσεως τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ τροφῇ γινομένην. Ἀπόσιτος γάρ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν διαμείνας, ὕστερον ἐπείνασεν · ἔδωκε γὰρ ὅτε ἐβούλετο τῇ φύσει καιρὸν τά έαυτῆς ἐνεργῆσαι. Ἀλλʼ ὁ τῶν πειρασμῶν εὑρετὴς, ὅτε ἔγνω τὸ κατά πεῖναν πάθος καὶ ἓν ἐκείνῳ γενόμενον, συνεβούλευσε λίθοις τὴν ὄρεξιν δεξιώσασθαι· τοῦτο δέ ἐστι, τὸ παρατρέψαι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκ τῆς κατὰ φύσιν τροφῆς ἐπὶ τά ἔξω τῆς φύσεως. Εἰπὲ γάρ, φησὶν, ἵνα οὶ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. Τί γὰρ ἠδίκησεν-1] γεωργία; Τίνος δὲ χάριν ἐβδελύχθη τὰ σπέρματα, ὡς τὴν ἀπὸ τούτων ἀτιμασθῆναι τροφήν; Τί δὲ καταγινώσκεται ἡ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ σοφία, ὡς οὐ δεόντως διά τῶν σπερλ μάτων τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τρέφουσα; Εἰ γάρ ό λίθος είς τροφὴν οἰκειότερος νῦν ἀναφαίνεται ο ἄρα τῆς δεούσης περὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ζωὴν προμηθείας ἠ τοῦ εʼροῦ σοφία διήμαρτεν. Εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. Ταῦτα λέγει μέχρι τοῦ νῦν τοῖς ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας πειραζομένοις ὀρέξεως, καὶ λέγων, ὡς ἐπιτοπολῦ πείθει ἐπί λίθων-σιτοποιεῖσθαι τοὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν βλέποντας. Ὅταν γὰρ ἐκβαίνῃ τοὺς ἀναγκαίους ὄρους τῆς χρείας ἡ ὄρεξις, τί ἄλλο καὶ οὐχὶ διαβόλου ἐστὶ συμβουλὴ, 106 τότε τὴν ἐκ σπερμάτων παραγραφομένου τροφὴν, καὶ ἐπὶ τά ἔξω τῆς φύσεως προκαλουμένου τὴν ὄρεξιν ; Ἐκ λίθων ἐσθίουσιν, οί τὸν τῆς πλεονεξίας ἄρτον παρατιθέμενοι · οἱ τάς πολυταλάντους καὶ φλεγμαινούσας τραπέζας ἑαυτοῖς ἐξ ἀδικιῶν ἐτοιμάζοντες · ὧν ὴ παρασκευὴ τῶν δείπνων, πομπή τίς ἐστι μεμηχανημένη πρὸς ἔκπληξιν, ἔξω τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ ζωῇ παραπίπτουσα. Τί γὰρ κοινὸν ἔχει πρὸ-ς τὴν τῆς φύσεως χρείανή ἄβρωτος ὕλη τοῦ ἀργύρου, ἐν βαρεῖ τε καὶ δυσβαστάκτῳ προτιθεμένη τῷ σταθμῷ; Τί ἐστι τὸ τῆς πείνης πάθος ; Οὐχὶ τοῦ ἐνδέοντος ἔφεσις; Διαπνευσθείσης γάρ τῆς δυνάμεως, πάλιν ἀναπληροῦται τὸ λεῖπον τῇ καταλλήλῳ προσθήκῃ. "Apro; γάρ ἐστιν, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐδωδίμων, οὕ ἡ φύσις ἐφίεται. Εἰ οὖν τις προσαγάγοι χρυσίον ἀντὶ ἄρτου τῷ στόματι, ἆρα θεραπεύει τὴν ἔνδειαν ; Ὅταν οὖν τὰς ἀβρώτους τις ὕλας πρὸ τῶν ἐδωδίμων ἐπιζητῇ, ἐν λίθοις ἄντικρυς ἔχει τὴν ἀσχολίαν, ἀλλο ζητούσης τῆς φύσεως, ἐν ἄλλῳ καταγινόμενος. Λέγει ἡ φύσις, διά τοῦ κατά τὴν ’πεῖναν πάθους μονονουχὶ φωνὴν ἀφιεῖσα, τὸ ἐννχρεία νῦν εἶναι βρώσεωςʼδιά τὸ δεῖν ἀντεισαγαγεῖν πάλιν τῷ σώματι τὸ διαπνευσθὲν τῆς δυνάμεως· σὺ δέ οὐκ ἀκούεις τῆς φύσεως ’ οὐ γὰρ ὃ ζητεῖ δίδως· ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἂν πολύ σοι γένοιτο 106 ἀργύρου τὸ ἄχθος ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης φροντίζεις, καὶ τοὺς χαλκευτὰς τῆς ὕλης ἀναζητεῖςο καὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν τῶν ἐγγλυφομὲνων ταῖς ὕλαις εἰδώλων περιεργάζῃ, ὅπως ἂν διʼ ἀκριβείας τοῖς γλύμμασι τά πάθη τε καὶ τά ἤθη διὰ τῆς τέχνης είσενεχθείη ο ὡς ἐπιγνῶναι τε τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ ὁπλίτου, ὅταν τὸ ξίφος πρὸς τὴν σφαγὴν ἀνατείνηται, καὶ τὴν ἀλγηδόνα τοῦ τραυματίου, ὅταν πρὸς τὴν καιρίαν συνεσταλμένος οίμώζειν δόξῃ διά τοῦ σχήματος · καὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν 106 θηρεύοντος, καὶ 106 θηρίου τὴν ἀγριότητα ’ καὶ ὅσα
kai symmetaschōn hēmin tōn autōn pathēmatōn, tēn peinan ouk ekrinen hamartian, oude apōsato tēs heautou peiras to katʼ autēn pathos, allʼ edexato tēn orektikēn hormēn tēs physeōs tēn epi tę̄ trophę̄ ginomenēn. Apositos gar tessarakonta hēmerōn diameinas, hysteron epeinasen ; edōke gar hote ebouleto tę̄ physei kairon ta eautēs energēsai. Allʼ ho tōn peirasmōn heuretēs, hote egnō to kata peinan pathos kai hen ekeinǭ genomenon, synebouleuse lithois tēn orexin dexiōsasthai; touto de esti, to paratrepsai tēn epithymian ek tēs kata physin trophēs epi ta exō tēs physeōs. Eipe gar, phēsin, hina oi lithoi houtoi artoi genōntai. Ti gar ēdikēsen-1] geōrgia? Tinos de charin ebdelychthē ta spermata, hōs tēn apo toutōn atimasthēnai trophēn? Ti de kataginōsketai hē tou Dēmiourgou sophia, hōs ou deontōs dia tōn sperl matōn to anthrōpinon trephousa? Ei gar o lithos eis trophēn oikeioteros nyn anaphainetai o ara tēs deousēs peri tēn anthrōpinēn zōēn promētheias ē tou eʼrou sophia diēmarten. Eipe hina hoi lithoi houtoi artoi genōntai. Tauta legei mechri tou nyn tois hypo tēs idias peirazomenois orexeōs, kai legōn, hōs epitopoly peithei epi lithōn-sitopoieisthai tous pros auton blepontas. Hotan gar ekbainę̄ tous anankaious orous tēs chreias hē orexis, ti allo kai ouchi diabolou esti symboulē, 106 tote tēn ek spermatōn paragraphomenou trophēn, kai epi ta exō tēs physeōs prokaloumenou tēn orexin ? Ek lithōn esthiousin, oi ton tēs pleonexias arton paratithemenoi ; hoi tas polytalantous kai phlegmainousas trapezas heautois ex adikiōn etoimazontes ; hōn ē paraskeuē tōn deipnōn, pompē tis esti memēchanēmenē pros ekplēxin, exō tōn anankaiōn tę̄ zōę̄ parapiptousa. Ti gar koinon echei pro-s tēn tēs physeōs chreianē abrōtos hylē tou argyrou, en barei te kai dysbastaktǭ protithemenē tǭ stathmǭ? Ti esti to tēs peinēs pathos ? Ouchi tou endeontos ephesis? Diapneustheisēs gar tēs dynameōs, palin anaplēroutai to leipon tę̄ katallēlǭ prosthēkę̄. "Apro? gar estin, ē allo ti tōn edōdimōn, hou hē physis ephietai. Ei oun tis prosagagoi chrysion anti artou tǭ stomati, ara therapeuei tēn endeian ? Hotan oun tas abrōtous tis hylas pro tōn edōdimōn epizētę̄, en lithois antikrys echei tēn ascholian, allo zētousēs tēs physeōs, en allǭ kataginomenos. Legei hē physis, dia tou kata tēn ’peinan pathous mononouchi phōnēn aphieisa, to ennchreia nyn einai brōseōsʼdia to dein anteisagagein palin tǭ sōmati to diapneusthen tēs dynameōs; sy de ouk akoueis tēs physeōs ’ ou gar ho zētei didōs; allʼ hopōs an poly soi genoito 106 argyrou to achthos epi tēs trapezēs phrontizeis, kai tous chalkeutas tēs hylēs anazēteiso kai tēn historian tōn englyphomenōn tais hylais eidōlōn periergazę̄, hopōs an diʼ akribeias tois glymmasi ta pathē te kai ta ēthē dia tēs technēs eisenechtheiē o hōs epignōnai te ton thymon tou hoplitou, hotan to xiphos pros tēn sphagēn anateinētai, kai tēn algēdona tou traumatiou, hotan pros tēn kairian synestalmenos oimōzein doxę̄ dia tou schēmatos ; kai tēn hormēn 106 thēreuontos, kai 106 thēriou tēn agriotēta ’ kai hosa
and shared with us the same sufferings, did not judge hunger a sin, nor did he refuse to experience the suffering that goes with it; he accepted nature’s impulse of appetite toward food. For after remaining without food for forty days, he afterward was hungry; for he gave nature the opportunity, when he wished, to do what belongs to it. But the inventor of temptations, when he knew that he too was in the state of hunger, counselled him to satisfy his appetite with stones — that is, to turn desire away from natural food toward things outside nature. “Tell these stones,” he says, “to become bread.” What wrong had farming done? Why were seeds abhorred, that the food from them should be dishonoured? Why is the Creator’s wisdom condemned, as though it nourished humanity improperly through seeds? For if stone now appears more suitable for food, then God’s wisdom failed in the providence that human life requires. “Tell these stones to become bread.” This he says to this day to those tempted by their own appetite, and by saying it he usually persuades those who look to him to make bread from stones. For when appetite goes beyond the necessary limits of need, what else is it but the counsel of the devil, who then sets aside the food that comes from seeds and calls appetite out toward things outside nature? Those eat from stones who set out for themselves the bread of greed, who prepare for themselves out of injustice tables worth many talents and swollen with luxury, whose preparation of dinners is a pageant contrived to astonish, going beyond what is necessary for life. What has the inedible matter of silver, set out in heavy weight hard to carry, in common with nature’s need? What is the passion of hunger? Is it not the desire for what is lacking? When strength has been spent, what is lacking is filled up again by a fitting addition; bread, or some other food, is what nature desires. If, then, someone puts gold to his mouth instead of bread, does it cure his want? So when one seeks inedible materials before foods, he is plainly busy with stones, occupied with one thing while nature seeks another. Nature says, all but uttering a voice through the passion of hunger, that food is now needed, because the strength that has been spent must be put back into the body. But you do not listen to nature, for you do not give what it asks. You take care that a great weight of silver be on your table; you seek out the smiths of the metal; you busy yourself with the stories of the figures engraved on it, so that the passions and characters may be rendered exactly in the carving by art — so that one may recognize the fury of the soldier as he raises his sword to kill, and the pain of the wounded man as he seems to groan, doubled up by the mortal blow in his posture, and the eagerness of the hunter and the ferocity of the beast, and whatever
Chapter 1239
1239PG 44:1240a–1240d
ἄλλα διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης περιεργίας ἐν ταῖς ἐπιτραπεζίοις ὕλαις φιλοτεχνοῦσιν οἰ μάταιοι. Πιεῖν ἡ φύσις ἐζήτησεν, σὺ δὲ τοὺς πολυταλάντους τρίποδας εὐτρεπίζεις, πλυνούς τε καὶ κρατῆρας, καὶ ἀμφορέας, καὶ ἀλλα μυρία, μηδὲν ἔχοντα πρὸς τὴν ἐπιζητουμένην χρείαν κοινόν. Ἀρα οὐχὶ φανερῶς ἀκούεις διʼ ὧν ποιεῖς τοῦ πρὸς-τὸν λίθον σοι συμβουλεύοντος βλέπειν ; Τί δʼ ἄν τις τά λοιπά τῆς λιθώδους ταύτης διεξίοι τροφῆς, τὰ αἰσχρά θεάματας τά ἐμπαθῆ ἀκροάματα. διʼ ὧν ὀδοποιοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς τὴν τῶν κακῶν ἀκολουθίαν τοῖς ὑπεκκαύμασι τῆς ἀκολασίας τὴν τροφὴν ἐπαρτυοντες ; ἓπῌῦτηντοῦ ἀντικειμένου περὶ τῆς τροφῆς ἐστι συμβουλὴ, ταῦτα διά τοῦ πρὸς τοὺς λίθους βλέπειν, ἀντὶ τῆς νενομισμένης τοῦ ἄρτου χρήσεως ὑποτίθεται. Ἀλλʼ ὁ τῶν πειρασμῶν καθαιρέτης, οὐχὶ τὴν πεῖναν ἐξορίζει τῆς φύσεως, ὡς κακῶν αἰτίαν, ἀλλά τὴν περιεργίαν τὴν ἐκ συμβουλῆς τοῦ ἀντικειμένου συν· εισιοῦσαν τῇ χρείᾳ, μόνην ἀποπεμψάμενος, ἀφῆκεν τοῖς ἰδίοις ὅροις οἰκονομεῖσθαι τὴν φύσιν.Ὠσπερ γὰρ οι διηθοῦντες τὸν οἶνον οὐκ ἀτιμάζουσιν αὐτοῦ τὸ χρήσιμον, διὰ τὴν καταμιχθεῖσαν ἄχνην αὐτῷ · ἀλλὰ τῷ ἰθμῷ τὰ περιττά διακρίναντες, τοῦ καθαροῦ τὴν χρῆσιν οὐκ ἀποβάλλουσιν· οὔτως-ὁ θεωρητικός τε καὶ διακριτικὸς τῶν ἀλλοτρίωντῆς φύσεως, Λόγος, τῇ λεπτότητι τῆς ἀκριβοῦς θεωρίας, ’τὴν μὲν πεῖναν, ὡς συντη ρητικὴν οὖσαν τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξώρισεν· τάς δὲ συμπλεκομένας τῇ χρείᾳ περιεργίας, διήθησέν τε καὶ ἀπέρριψεν, εἰπών · ἐκεῖνον εἰδέναι τρόφιμον ἄρτον, ὃς τῷ ῥήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς τὴν φύσιν ᾠκείωται. Εἰ οὖν ἐπείνασεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, μακαριστὸν ἀν εἴη τὸ πεινᾷν, ὅταν κατά μίμησιν ἐκείνου ἐνεργῆται καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν. Εἰ τοίνυν ἔγνωμεν τί ἐστιν οὗ πεινᾷ Κύριος, γνωσόμεθα πάντως τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τοῦ νῦν ἡμῖν προκειμένου τὴν δύναμιν. Ποία οὖν ἐστιν ἡ βρῶσις, ἦς ό Ἰησοῦς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεταις Φησὶ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς μετά τὸν πρὸς τὴν Σαμαρεῖτιν διάλογον · ὅτι Ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν, ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου· φανερὸν δὲ τοῦ Πατρός ἐστι τὸ θέλημα, ὃς πάντας,ἀνθρώπους θέλει σωθῆναι, καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν. Οὐκοῦν εί ἐκεῖνος ὀρέγεται τοῦ ἡμᾶς σωθῆναι, καὶ τροφὴ αὑτοῦ γίνεται ή ἡμετέρα ζωὴ, μεʼμαθήκαμεν εἰς δ τι χρηστέον ἂν εἴη τῇ τοιαύτῃ τῆς ψυχῆς διαθέσει. Τί οῦν τοῦτό ἐστι; Πεινάσωμεν τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν, διψήσωμεν τοῦ θείου θελήματος, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ ἡμᾶς σωθῆναι. Πῶς οῦν ἐστι τὴν τοιαύτην ἡμῖν κατορθωθῆναι πεῖναν, νῦν παρὰ τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ μεμαθήκαμεν. '0 γὰρ τὴν δικαιοσύνην τοῦ Θεοῦ ποθήσας, εὗρεν τὸ ἀληθῶς ὀρεκτόν · οὗ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὐχ ἐνὶ τρόπῳ τῶν κατά τὴν ὄρεξιν ἐνεργουμένων ἐπλήρωσεν ο οὐ γὰρ μόνον ὡς βρῶσιν τὴν τοῦ δικαίου μετουσίαν ἐπόθησεν. Ἦμιτελὴς γὰρ ἂν ἦν ἐπὶ ταύτης μόνης τῆς διαθέσεως
alla dia tēs toiautēs periergias en tais epitrapeziois hylais philotechnousin oi mataioi. Piein hē physis ezētēsen, sy de tous polytalantous tripodas eutrepizeis, plynous te kai kratēras, kai amphoreas, kai alla myria, mēden echonta pros tēn epizētoumenēn chreian koinon. Ara ouchi phanerōs akoueis diʼ hōn poieis tou pros-ton lithon soi symbouleuontos blepein ? Ti dʼ an tis ta loipa tēs lithōdous tautēs diexioi trophēs, ta aischra theamatas ta empathē akroamata. diʼ hōn odopoiousin heautois tēn tōn kakōn akolouthian tois hypekkaumasi tēs akolasias tēn trophēn epartyontes ? hepĘ̄utēntou antikeimenou peri tēs trophēs esti symboulē, tauta dia tou pros tous lithous blepein, anti tēs nenomismenēs tou artou chrēseōs hypotithetai. Allʼ ho tōn peirasmōn kathairetēs, ouchi tēn peinan exorizei tēs physeōs, hōs kakōn aitian, alla tēn periergian tēn ek symboulēs tou antikeimenou syn; eisiousan tę̄ chreią, monēn apopempsamenos, aphēken tois idiois horois oikonomeisthai tēn physin.Ōsper gar oi diēthountes ton oinon ouk atimazousin autou to chrēsimon, dia tēn katamichtheisan achnēn autǭ ; alla tǭ ithmǭ ta peritta diakrinantes, tou katharou tēn chrēsin ouk apoballousin; outōs-ho theōrētikos te kai diakritikos tōn allotriōntēs physeōs, Logos, tę̄ leptotēti tēs akribous theōrias, ’tēn men peinan, hōs syntē rētikēn ousan tēs zōēs hēmōn ouk exōrisen; tas de symplekomenas tę̄ chreią periergias, diēthēsen te kai aperripsen, eipōn ; ekeinon eidenai trophimon arton, hos tǭ rhēmati tou Theou pros tēn physin ǭkeiōtai. Ei oun epeinasen ho Iēsous, makariston an eiē to peinąn, hotan kata mimēsin ekeinou energētai kai en hēmin. Ei toinyn egnōmen ti estin hou peiną Kyrios, gnōsometha pantōs tou makarismou tou nyn hēmin prokeimenou tēn dynamin. Poia oun estin hē brōsis, ēs o Iēsous tēn epithymian ouk epaischynetais Phēsi pros tous mathētas meta ton pros tēn Samareitin dialogon ; hoti Emon brōma estin, hina poiō to thelēma tou Patros mou; phaneron de tou Patros esti to thelēma, hos pantas,anthrōpous thelei sōthēnai, kai eis epignōsin alētheias elthein. Oukoun ei ekeinos oregetai tou hēmas sōthēnai, kai trophē hautou ginetai ē hēmetera zōē, meʼmathēkamen eis d ti chrēsteon an eiē tę̄ toiautę̄ tēs psychēs diathesei. Ti oun touto esti? Peinasōmen tēn heautōn sōtērian, dipsēsōmen tou theiou thelēmatos, hoper esti to hēmas sōthēnai. Pōs oun esti tēn toiautēn hēmin katorthōthēnai peinan, nyn para tou makarismou memathēkamen. '0 gar tēn dikaiosynēn tou Theou pothēsas, heuren to alēthōs orekton ; hou tēn epithymian ouch eni tropǭ tōn kata tēn orexin energoumenōn eplērōsen o ou gar monon hōs brōsin tēn tou dikaiou metousian epothēsen. Ēmitelēs gar an ēn epi tautēs monēs tēs diatheseōs
else the vain lavish their art on with such curiosity in their table plate. Nature asked for drink, but you prepare tripods worth many talents, basins, mixing bowls, jars, and countless other things that have nothing in common with the need that was felt. Do you not plainly hear, by what you do, the one who counsels you to look to the stone? Why should one go through the rest of this stony food — the shameful spectacles, the passionate performances, by which people pave the way for themselves to the sequence of evils, seasoning their food with the kindlings of licentiousness? Whatever is the adversary’s counsel about food, he suggests it through looking to the stones instead of the customary use of bread. But the destroyer of temptations does not banish hunger from nature as a cause of evils; he dismisses only the curiosity that comes in with need at the adversary’s counsel, and leaves nature to be governed within its own limits. Those who strain wine do not dishonour its usefulness because of the dregs mixed into it; separating what is superfluous with a strainer, they do not reject the use of what is pure. So the Word, who contemplates and discerns what is foreign to nature, by the fineness of his exact contemplation did not banish hunger, since it preserves our life, but strained out and threw away the curiosities interwoven with need, saying that he knows as nourishing bread the bread that is made fit for nature by the word of God. If, then, Jesus hungered, hunger would be blessed when it works in us too in imitation of him. If we come to know what the Lord hungers for, we shall surely know the force of the beatitude now before us. What, then, is the food Jesus is not ashamed to desire? He says to his disciples after the conversation with the Samaritan woman, “My food is to do the will of my Father.” And the Father’s will is plain: he wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. If, then, he longs for us to be saved, and our life becomes his food, we have learned to what use such a disposition of soul should be put. What is it? Let us hunger for our own salvation; let us thirst for the divine will, which is that we be saved. How we can achieve such hunger we have now learned from the beatitude. For one who has longed for the righteousness of God has found what is truly desirable; and he fulfilled the desire for it not in only one of the ways in which appetite works, for he did not long to share in what is just only as food. Appetite would have been half complete had it stopped at this disposition alone;
Chapter 1241
1241PG 44:1241a–1241d
στᾶσα ἡ δρεξις, νυνὶ δέ καὶ πότιμον τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο ἐποίησεν, ἵνα τὸ ἔνθερμόν τε καὶ διακαὲς τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῷ· πάθειτῆς δίψης ἐνδείξηται. Ξηροὶ γὰρ τρόπον τινά κεί). φλογώδεις ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ δίψους γινόμενοι, ὡς θεραπευτικὸν τῆς τοιαύτης διαθέσεως τὸ --μίαν Α..-... - __ ξ _ ποτὸν ἡῷνῆς προσφερόμεθα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν μία μὲν τῷ γένει ἡ ιὸρεξις ἐπὶ βρώσεὼς τε καὶ πόσεως · διάφορον δὲ ἡ προς ἑκάτερον τούτων διάθεσις, ὡς ἂν τὸ ἀκράτατον τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπιθυμίας 6 λόγος ἡμῖν νομοθετήσειεν ’ μακαρίζει τοὺς τὰ δύο ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν δικαιοσύνην πάσχοντας, τὴν πεῖνάν τε καὶ τὴν δίψαν, ὡς ἱκανοῦ ὄντος τοῦ ποθουμένου πρὸς ἐκατέραν ἁρμοσθῆναι καταλλήλως τὴν ὄρεξιν, καὶ στερρὰν μὲν τῷηπεινῶντι γίνεσθαι τροφὴν, πότιμον δὲ τῷ διψητικῶς ἐφελκυσαμένῳ τὴν χάριν. ί
stasa hē drexis, nyni de kai potimon to agathon touto epoiēsen, hina to enthermon te kai diakaes tēs epithymias tǭ; patheitēs dipsēs endeixētai. Xēroi gar tropon tina kei). phlogōdeis en tǭ kairǭ tou dipsous ginomenoi, hōs therapeutikon tēs toiautēs diatheseōs to --mian A..-... - __ x _ poton hēǭnēs prospherometha. Epei oun mia men tǭ genei hē iorexis epi brōseōs te kai poseōs ; diaphoron de hē pros hekateron toutōn diathesis, hōs an to akrataton tēs pros to agathon epithymias 6 logos hēmin nomothetēseien ’ makarizei tous ta dyo tauta pros tēn dikaiosynēn paschontas, tēn peinan te kai tēn dipsan, hōs hikanou ontos tou pothoumenou pros ekateran harmosthēnai katallēlōs tēn orexin, kai sterran men tǭēpeinōnti ginesthai trophēn, potimon de tǭ dipsētikōs ephelkysamenǭ tēn charin. i
but now he has made this good drinkable as well, so as to show the warmth and burning of desire through the experience of thirst. For in a time of thirst we become in a way dry and fiery, and we take drink as the remedy for that condition. Since, then, the appetite for food and for drink is one in kind, while the disposition toward each is different, the Word, to lay down for us the most intense desire for the good, blesses those who feel both these toward righteousness, hunger and thirst, since what is longed for is able to adapt itself fittingly to either appetite, becoming solid food to the one who hungers and drink to the one who draws in grace with thirst.
Chapter 1243
1243PG 44:1244a–1244d
ΕΗ _ λο τι τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ θεωρουμένων. Et δὲ παντὸς τοῦ χείρονος ἀμιγὴς ό τῆς δικαιοσύνης λόγος ἐστὶν, ἅπαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ πάντως τὸ ἀγαθὸν περιείληφεν ἀγαθὸν δὲ πᾶν τὸ κατʼ ἀρετὴν θεωρούμενον. Οὐκοῦν πᾶσα ἀρετὴ τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐνταῦθα διασημαίνεταε, ἦς τοὺς πεινῶντάς τε καὶ διψῶντας μακαρίζει ὁ Δόγος, τὴν πλησμονὴν αὐτοῖς τῶν ἐπιθυμουμένων ἐπαγγελλὸμενος. ,Μακάριοι γάρ, φησὶν, οἱ πεινῶντες και διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται. Τὺ δὲ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν μοί τινα νοῦν ἔχειν δοκεῖʼ Οὐδὲν τῶν καθʼ ἡδονὴν ιν τῷ βίῳ σπουδαζομένων πλήσμιον γίνεται τοῖς σπουδάζουσιν, ἀλλὰ, φησί που διʼ αἰνίγματος ἡ Σοφία· Πίθος τετρημένος ἐστὶν ὴ περὶ τὰς ἡδονὰς ἀσχολίαι ᾧ πάντοτε κατὰ σπουδὴν ἐπαντλοῦντες, ἀπλήρωτόν τινα καὶ ἀνήνυτον ἐπίδεικνυνται κόπον oi περὶ ταῦτα σπουδάζοντες, ἐγχέοντες μὲν ἀεί τι τῷ βυθῷ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, καὶ τὺ πρὸς ἡδονὴν ἐπεμβάλλοντες, εἰς κόρον δὲ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὐκ ἄγοντες. Τίς ἔγνω τῆς φιλαργυρίας ὅρον, διὰ τοῦ προσγενέσθαι τοῖς φιλαργυροῦσι τὸ σπουδαζόμενον;Τίς δοξομανῶν ἔληξεν, ἐν τῷ τυχεῖν ὧν ἐσπούδαζεν ;ό δέ τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐκπλήσας ὲν ἀκροάμασιν ἦ θεάμασιν, τῇ περὶΪΔ γαστέρα καὶ μετάγαστὲρα μανίᾳ καὶ λύσσῃ · τί εὗρεν ἐκ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως αὐτῷ ταύτης περιγενόμενον ; Ού πάσης ἡδονῆς εἶδος τῆς διά σώματος ἐκπληρουμένης ὁμοῦ προσπελάσαι παρίπταται,ούδέ πρὸς τὸ βραχύτατον τοῖς ἁψαμένοις αὐ τῆς παραμενούσης; Τοῦτο τοίνυν τὸ ὑψηλὸν δόγμα παρά τοῦ Κυρίου μανθάνομεν, ὅτι μόνη ὴ κατʼ ἀρε· τὴν ἡμῖν ἐγγινομένη σπουδὴ πάγιόν τί ἐστι καὶ ὲνυπόστατον. Ὀ γάρ τι τῶν ὑψηλῶν κατορθώσας, οἷον σωφροσύνην, ἢ μετριότητα, ἢ τὴν πρὸς τὸ Θείον εύσέὅειαν, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ὑψηλῶν τε καὶ εύαγγελικῶν διδαγμάτων, ού παροδικὴν ἐφʼ ἑκάστῳ τῶν κατορθωμάτων καὶ ἄστατον τὴν εὐφροσύνην εχει, ἀλλʼ ἐνιδρυμένην καὶ διαμένουσαν, καὶ παντὶ συ μπαρατεινομένην τῷ τῆς ζωῆς διαστήματι. Διά τί; Ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν ἔξεστι διαπαντὸς ἐνεργεῖν, καὶ ούδείς ἐστι καιρὸς ἐν παντὶ τῷ τῆς ζωῆς διαστήματι, τῆς ἀγαθῆς κόρον ἐμποιῶν ἐνεργείας. ’Ἢ τε γὰρ σωφροσύνη καὶ ἡ καθαρότης, καὶ τὸ ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ ἀμετάπτωτον, καὶ τὸ πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἀκοινώνητον ἀεὶ ἐνεργεῖται, ἕως ἀν τις πρὸς ἀρετὴν βλέπῃ, καὶ συμπαρατεινομένην ἔχει τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τὴν εὐφροσύνην. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ταῖς άτόο ποις ἐπιθυμίαις ἐκκεχυμένων, κάν διαπαντὸς αὐτοῖς ἡ ψυχὴ βλέπῃ πρὸς τὸ ἀκόλαστον, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀεὶ τὺ ἥδεσθαι πάρεστιν. Τήν τε γάρ περὶ τὴν βρῶσιν λιχνείαν ὁ κόρος ἔστησεν, καὶ ή τοῦ πίνοντος ἡδονὴ συγκατεσβέσθη τῇ δίψῃ, καὶ τά ἄλλα κατά τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ χρόνου τινὸς χρῄζει, καὶ διαλείμματος, ὥστε μαρανθείσης ἀπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς καὶ τῆς πλησμονῆς, πάλιν ἀνακληθῆναι τὴν τοῦ ἡδύνοντος ὄρεξιν. Ἡ δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσις, οἷς ἂν ἅπαξ βεβαίως ἐνιδρυθῇ. οὐ χρόνῳ μετρεῖται, οὔτε κόρῳ περιορίζεται· ἀλλά
EĒ _ lo ti tōn en kakią theōroumenōn. Et de pantos tou cheironos amigēs o tēs dikaiosynēs logos estin, hapan en heautǭ pantōs to agathon perieilēphen agathon de pan to katʼ aretēn theōroumenon. Oukoun pasa aretē tǭ onomati tēs dikaiosynēs entautha diasēmainetae, ēs tous peinōntas te kai dipsōntas makarizei ho Dogos, tēn plēsmonēn autois tōn epithymoumenōn epangellomenos. ,Makarioi gar, phēsin, hoi peinōntes kai dipsōntes tēn dikaiosynēn, hoti autoi chortasthēsontai. Ty de legomenon toiouton moi tina noun echein dokeiʼ Ouden tōn kathʼ hēdonēn in tǭ biǭ spoudazomenōn plēsmion ginetai tois spoudazousin, alla, phēsi pou diʼ ainigmatos hē Sophia; Pithos tetrēmenos estin ē peri tas hēdonas ascholiai hǭ pantote kata spoudēn epantlountes, aplērōton tina kai anēnyton epideiknyntai kopon oi peri tauta spoudazontes, encheontes men aei ti tǭ bythǭ tēs epithymias, kai ty pros hēdonēn epemballontes, eis koron de tēn epithymian ouk agontes. Tis egnō tēs philargyrias horon, dia tou prosgenesthai tois philargyrousi to spoudazomenon?Tis doxomanōn elēxen, en tǭ tychein hōn espoudazen ?o de tēn hēdonēn ekplēsas en akroamasin ē theamasin, tę̄ periÏD gastera kai metagastera manią kai lyssę̄ ; ti heuren ek tēs apolauseōs autǭ tautēs perigenomenon ? Ou pasēs hēdonēs eidos tēs dia sōmatos ekplēroumenēs homou prospelasai pariptatai,oude pros to brachytaton tois hapsamenois au tēs paramenousēs? Touto toinyn to hypsēlon dogma para tou Kyriou manthanomen, hoti monē ē katʼ are; tēn hēmin enginomenē spoudē pagion ti esti kai enypostaton. O gar ti tōn hypsēlōn katorthōsas, hoion sōphrosynēn, ē metriotēta, ē tēn pros to Theion euseoeian, ē allo ti tōn hypsēlōn te kai euangelikōn didagmatōn, ou parodikēn ephʼ hekastǭ tōn katorthōmatōn kai astaton tēn euphrosynēn echei, allʼ enidrymenēn kai diamenousan, kai panti sy mparateinomenēn tǭ tēs zōēs diastēmati. Dia ti? Hoti tauta men exesti diapantos energein, kai oudeis esti kairos en panti tǭ tēs zōēs diastēmati, tēs agathēs koron empoiōn energeias. ’Ē te gar sōphrosynē kai hē katharotēs, kai to en panti agathǭ ametaptōton, kai to pros to kakon akoinōnēton aei energeitai, heōs an tis pros aretēn blepę̄, kai symparateinomenēn echei tę̄ energeią tēn euphrosynēn. Epi de tōn tais atoo pois epithymiais ekkechymenōn, kan diapantos autois hē psychē blepę̄ pros to akolaston, allʼ ouk aei ty hēdesthai parestin. Tēn te gar peri tēn brōsin lichneian ho koros estēsen, kai ē tou pinontos hēdonē synkatesbesthē tę̄ dipsę̄, kai ta alla kata ton auton tropon kai chronou tinos chrę̄zei, kai dialeimmatos, hōste marantheisēs apo tēs hēdonēs kai tēs plēsmonēs, palin anaklēthēnai tēn tou hēdynontos orexin. Hē de tēs aretēs ktēsis, hois an hapax bebaiōs enidrythę̄. ou chronǭ metreitai, oute korǭ periorizetai; alla
… or anything else seen in vice. If the account of righteousness is unmixed with everything worse, it certainly embraces every good in itself; and everything seen in virtue is good. So here every virtue is signified by the name of righteousness, and the Word blesses those who hunger and thirst for it, promising them the fullness of what they desire. For “blessed,” he says, “are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The saying seems to me to have some such meaning as this. None of the things pursued for pleasure in this life becomes filling for those who pursue them; but, as Wisdom says somewhere in a riddle, preoccupation with pleasures is a leaking jar. Those who busy themselves with such things always pour eagerly into it, and display a labour that never fills and never ends: they are always pouring something into the depths of desire and throwing in what leads to pleasure, but they never bring desire to satiety. Who has known a limit to the love of money because what he pursued came into his possession? What man mad for glory has stopped on obtaining what he was pursuing? And one who has had his fill of pleasure in performances or spectacles, in the madness and frenzy of the belly and what lies below the belly — what has he found left over for him from this enjoyment? Does not every form of pleasure that is satisfied through the body fly past as soon as it arrives, not staying even for the shortest time with those who lay hold of it? This lofty teaching, then, we learn from the Lord: that only the zeal for virtue that arises in us is something firm and substantial. For one who has achieved any of the lofty things — self-control, or modesty, or piety toward the Divine, or any other of the lofty teachings of the Gospel — has in each achievement a joy that is not passing and unstable, but settled and lasting, stretching out with the whole span of life. Why? Because these things can be practised continually, and there is no time in the whole span of life that produces satiety of good activity. Self-control and purity, steadfastness in every good, having no share in evil — these are always at work as long as one looks to virtue, and they have joy stretching out with the activity. But with those who are poured out in unseemly desires, even if their soul always looks to licentiousness, pleasure is not always present. Satiety stops gluttony for food; the drinker’s pleasure is quenched together with his thirst; and the other things in the same way need some time and interval, so that when appetite has withered from pleasure and fullness, the desire for what pleases may be called back again. But the possession of virtue, in those in whom it has once been firmly established, is not measured by time nor bounded by satiety; it
Chapter 1245
1245PG 44:1245a–1245b
ιειε πὰντοτε τοῖς κατʼ αὐτὴν ζῶσιν ἀκραιφνῆ τε καὶ νεαράν, καὶ ἀκμάζουσαν τῶν ίδίων ἀγαθῶν παρέχει τὴν αἴσθησιν. Διὸ τοῖς ταῦτα πεινῶσιν, 6 Θεὸς Λόγος τὴν πλησμονὴν ἐπαγγέλλεται ο πλησμονὴν ἐξάπτουσαν κόρῳ τὴν ὄρεξιν, οὐκ ἀμβλύνουσαν. Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστιν, ὃ διδάσκει ὲκ τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ τῶν νοημάτων ὅρους διαλεγόμενος, τῷ μηδενὶ τοιούτῳ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἡμῶν προσασχολεῖν, οῦ μηδὲν πρόκειται τοῖς σπουδάζουσι πέρας, ὲν οἷς ματαία τε καὶ ἀνόητός ἐστιν ἡ σπουδήο καθάπερ τοῖς τῇ κορυφῇ τῆς ἑαυτῶν σκιᾶς ἐπιτρέχουσιν, οἷς 6 δρόμος ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνήνυτον φέρεται, εἰς ἐκεῖνο ἀεὶ ταχέως τοῦ διωκομένου ὑπεξιόντος τῷ ἐπιτρέχοντι · ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖ τρέψαι τὴν ὄρεξιν, ὲν οἷς ἡ σπουδὴ κτῆμα τοῦ σπουδάζοντος γίνεται. Ὁ γάρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιθυμήσας, κτῆμα ἴδιον ποιεῖταιτὸ ἀγαθὸν, ὲν ἐαυτῷ βλέπων ὃ ἐπεθύμησεν. Μακαριος οῦν 6 πει· νάσας τὴν σωφροσύνην* ἐμπλησθήσεται γὰρ τῆς καθαρότητος. 'H δὲ πλησμονὴ, καθὼς εἴρηται, οὐκ ἀποστροφὴν, ἀλλʼ ἐπίτασιν ποιεῖ τῆς ὀρέξεως, καὶ συναύξεται ἀλλήλοις κατὰ τὸ ἶσον ἀμφότερα. Τῇ τε γάρ ἐπιθυμία τῆς ἀρετῆς ή τοῦ ὲπιθυμηθέντος κτῆσις ἐπηκολούθησεν ° καὶ τὸ ἐγγενόμενον ἀγαθὸν ἄπαυστοι τὴν εὐφροσύνην τῇ ψυχῇ συνεισήνεγκεν. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἠ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τούτου φύσις ἐστὶν, ὡς μὴ ὲν τῷ παρόντι μόνον καταγλυκαίνειν τὸν ἀπολαύοντα, ἀλλʼ ὲν πᾶσι τοῖς τοῦ χρόνου μέρεσιν ἐνεργὸν παρέχειν τὴν εὐφροσύνην. Καὶ γάρὴ μνήμη τῶν ὀρθῶς βεβιωμένων εὐφραίνει τὸν κατορθώσαντα ’ καὶὴ ὲν τῷ παρόντι ζωὴ, ὅταν διʼ ἀρετῆς διεξάγηται, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀντιδόσεως προσδοκία, ἥν οὐκ ἄλλην εἷναί τινα ὑπολαμβάνω, ἢ αὐτὴν πάλιν τὴν ἀρετὴν, ἢ καὶ ἔργον ἐστὶ τῶν κατορθούντων, καὶ γέρας ἐπὶ τοῖς κατορθώο
ieie pantote tois katʼ autēn zōsin akraiphnē te kai nearan, kai akmazousan tōn idiōn agathōn parechei tēn aisthēsin. Dio tois tauta peinōsin, 6 Theos Logos tēn plēsmonēn epangelletai o plēsmonēn exaptousan korǭ tēn orexin, ouk amblynousan. Touto oun estin, ho didaskei ek tou hypsēlou tōn noēmatōn horous dialegomenos, tǭ mēdeni toioutǭ tēn epithymian hēmōn prosascholein, ou mēden prokeitai tois spoudazousi peras, en hois mataia te kai anoētos estin hē spoudēo kathaper tois tę̄ koryphę̄ tēs heautōn skias epitrechousin, hois 6 dromos epi to anēnyton pheretai, eis ekeino aei tacheōs tou diōkomenou hypexiontos tǭ epitrechonti ; allʼ ekei trepsai tēn orexin, en hois hē spoudē ktēma tou spoudazontos ginetai. Ho gar tēs aretēs epithymēsas, ktēma idion poieitaito agathon, en eautǭ blepōn ho epethymēsen. Makarios oun 6 pei; nasas tēn sōphrosynēn* emplēsthēsetai gar tēs katharotētos. 'H de plēsmonē, kathōs eirētai, ouk apostrophēn, allʼ epitasin poiei tēs orexeōs, kai synauxetai allēlois kata to ison amphotera. Tę̄ te gar epithymia tēs aretēs ē tou epithymēthentos ktēsis epēkolouthēsen ° kai to engenomenon agathon apaustoi tēn euphrosynēn tę̄ psychę̄ syneisēnenken. Toiautē gar ē tou agathou toutou physis estin, hōs mē en tǭ paronti monon kataglykainein ton apolauonta, allʼ en pasi tois tou chronou meresin energon parechein tēn euphrosynēn. Kai garē mnēmē tōn orthōs bebiōmenōn euphrainei ton katorthōsanta ’ kaiē en tǭ paronti zōē, hotan diʼ aretēs diexagētai, kai hē tēs antidoseōs prosdokia, hēn ouk allēn heinai tina hypolambanō, ē autēn palin tēn aretēn, ē kai ergon esti tōn katorthountōn, kai geras epi tois katorthōo
always gives those who live by it a pure, fresh, and flourishing sense of its own goods. That is why God the Word promises fullness to those who hunger for these things — a fullness that kindles appetite by satiety instead of blunting it. This, then, is what he teaches as he discourses from the lofty mountain of thoughts: not to occupy our desire with anything of the kind that sets no end before those who pursue it, where the pursuit is vain and senseless, like that of people running after the head of their own shadow, whose race goes on without end, since what they chase always slips away from the pursuer just as fast; but to turn our appetite there where the pursuit becomes the possession of the pursuer. For whoever has desired virtue makes the good his own possession, seeing in himself what he desired. Blessed, then, is the one who has hungered for self-control, for he will be filled with purity. And this fullness, as has been said, produces not aversion but an intensifying of appetite, and the two grow together equally. For the possession of what was desired followed the desire for virtue, and the good that arose brought with it unceasing joy for the soul. Such is the nature of this good that it not only sweetens the present for the one who enjoys it, but gives active joy in every part of time. For the memory of a life lived rightly gladdens the one who lived it; so does the present life, when it is conducted in virtue; and so does the expectation of the reward, which I take to be nothing other than virtue itself again, which is both the work of those who succeed and the prize for what they achieve
Chapter 1247
1247PG 44:1248a
τῶν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον νοουμένων καταλαμβάνεται ο αὑτὸς 6 Θεὸς Λόγος. ἡ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καλύψασα ἀρετὴ. καθὼςό Ἀμὸακοὺμ διεξέρχεται, καὶ καλῶς oi ταύτην τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δικαιοσύνην πεινῶντες, ἐμακαρεσθησαν. Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ ό γευσάμενος τοῦ Κιιρίου. καθὼς ἠ ψαλμῳδία λέγει, τουτέστιν, 6 ἐν ἐαυτῷ δεξάμενος τὸν Θεὸν, πλήρης γίνεται οὗ ἐδίψησέν τε καὶ ἐπείνασεν, κατὰ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν τοῦ εἰπόντος · ὅτι Ἐγὼ καὶ ό Πατὴρ ἐλευσόμεθα, καὶ μονὴν παρʼ αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν,τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος δηλονότι προενοικήσαντος. Οὕτω μοι δοκεῖ καὶ Παῦλος 6 μέγας 6 τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἐκείνων καρπῶν τῶν ὲκ τοῦ παραδείσου ἀπογευσάμενος, καί πλήρης ὧν ἐγεύσατο εἶναι, καὶ ἀεὶ πεινῶν. Καί γὰρ πεπληρῶσθαι τοῦ ποθουμένου ὁμολογεί λέγων ’ Ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός · καὶ ὡς πεινῶν ἀεὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτείνεται λέγων ’ Οὐχ ὅτι ἤδη ἔλαβον ἢ ἤδη τετελείωμαι, τρέχω δὲ ἵνα καταλάβω. Δεδόσθω γὰρ ἡμῖν κατʼ ἐξουσίαν ὑποθετικῶς εἶναι τι λέγειν, 6 ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἔχει. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς αἰσθητῆς βρώσεως, εἰ μηδὲν περιττωματικῶς τῶν είς τροφὴν λαμβανομένων ἐξεποιεῖτο, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὅλον εἰς προσθήκην τοῦ σωματικοῦ ὕψους ἀνελαμβάνετο, εἰς πολὺ ἂν ὕψος ἐπήρθη τὰ σώματα, τῆς καθʼ ἡμέραν τροφῆς διʼ ἑαυτῆς ὲπαυξούσης τὸ μέγεθος οὕτως ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἐκείνη, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ μετʼ αὐτῆς ἀρετὴ, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐκποιεῖται ἐσθιομένη κατὰ τὸν νοητὸν τῆς βρώσεως τρόπον, ὑψηλοτέρους ἀεὶ ποιεῖ διʼ ἑαυτῆς τοὺς μετέχοντας, πάντοτε τῇ παρʼ ἑαυτῆς προσθήκῃ τὸ μέγεθος αὔξουσα. Οὐκοῦν εἰ νενόηται ἡμῖν ἡ μακαριστὴ πεῖνα, πᾶσαν τὴν ἀπὺ κακίας πληθώραν ἐμέσαντες, πεινάσωμεν τὴν δικαιοσύνην τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα καὶ εἰς πλησμονὴν αὐτῆς ἔλθωο μεν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα είς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Αμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ Εʼ. Μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται. Τάχα τι τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅ διά τινος ὀπτασίαςδ Ἰακὼὸ διʼ αἰνίγματος ἐπαιδεύθη, κλίμακα ἰδὼν ἀπὸ γῆς ἐπὶ τὸ οὐράνιον ὕψος διήκουσαν, καὶτὸν Θεὸν ἐπʼ αὐτῆς ἐστηριγμένον, οἷον δὴ νῦν καὶ ἡμῖνή διὰ τῶν μακαρισμῶν διδασκαλία ποιεῖ, ἀεὶ πρὸς τὰ ὑψηλότερα τῶν νοημάτων τοὺς διʼ αὐτῆς ἀνιόντας ἐπαίρουσα. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ τῷ πατριάρχῃ τὸν κατʼ ἀρετὴν οἴμαι βίον τῷ εἴδει τῆς κλίμακος διατυποῦσθαι, ὡς ἂν αὑτός τε μάθοι καὶ τοῖς μετʼ αὐτὸν ὑφηγήσαιτο, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλως πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑψωθῆναι, μὴ ἀεὶ πρὸς τὰ άνω βλέποντα, καὶ τὴν τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐπιθυμίαν ἄληκτον ἔχοντα, ώς μὴ ἀγαπᾷν ἐπὶτῶν ἤδη κατορθωθέντων μένειν, ἀλλὰ ζημίαν ποιεῖσθαι, εἱ τοῦ ὑπερκειμένου μὴ ἅψαιτο. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὖν ὕψος τῶν ἐπʼ ἀλλήλων μακαρισμῶν αὐτῷ προσεγγίζειν τῷ Θεῷ παρασκευάζει, τῷ άληθῶς μακαρίῳ, καὶ πάσης ἐπεστηριγμένῳ μακαριότητος. Πάντως δὲ, ὡς τῷ
tōn pros to kreitton nooumenōn katalambanetai o hautos 6 Theos Logos. hē tous ouranous kalypsasa aretē. kathōso Amoakoum diexerchetai, kai kalōs oi tautēn tou Theou tēn dikaiosynēn peinōntes, emakaresthēsan. Tǭ onti gar o geusamenos tou Kiiriou. kathōs ē psalmǭdia legei, toutestin, 6 en eautǭ dexamenos ton Theon, plērēs ginetai hou edipsēsen te kai epeinasen, kata tēn hyposchesin tou eipontos ; hoti Egō kai o Patēr eleusometha, kai monēn parʼ autǭ poiēsomen,tou hagiou Pneumatos dēlonoti proenoikēsantos. Houtō moi dokei kai Paulos 6 megas 6 tōn aporrētōn ekeinōn karpōn tōn ek tou paradeisou apogeusamenos, kai plērēs hōn egeusato einai, kai aei peinōn. Kai gar peplērōsthai tou pothoumenou homologei legōn ’ Zę̄ de en emoi Christos ; kai hōs peinōn aei tois emprosthen epekteinetai legōn ’ Ouch hoti ēdē elabon ē ēdē teteleiōmai, trechō de hina katalabō. Dedosthō gar hēmin katʼ exousian hypothetikōs einai ti legein, 6 hē physis ouk echei. Kathaper gar epi tēs aisthētēs brōseōs, ei mēden perittōmatikōs tōn eis trophēn lambanomenōn exepoieito, alla to holon eis prosthēkēn tou sōmatikou hypsous anelambaneto, eis poly an hypsos epērthē ta sōmata, tēs kathʼ hēmeran trophēs diʼ heautēs epauxousēs to megethos houtōs hē dikaiosynē ekeinē, kai pasa hē metʼ autēs aretē, epeidē ouk ekpoieitai esthiomenē kata ton noēton tēs brōseōs tropon, hypsēloterous aei poiei diʼ heautēs tous metechontas, pantote tę̄ parʼ heautēs prosthēkę̄ to megethos auxousa. Oukoun ei nenoētai hēmin hē makaristē peina, pasan tēn apy kakias plēthōran emesantes, peinasōmen tēn dikaiosynēn tou Theou, hina kai eis plēsmonēn autēs elthōo men, en Christǭ Iēsou tǭ Kyriǭ hēmōn, hǭ hē doxa eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amēn. LOGOS Eʼ. Makarioi hoi eleēmones, hoti autoi eleēthēsontai. Tacha ti toiouton estin, ho dia tinos optasiasd Iakōo diʼ ainigmatos epaideuthē, klimaka idōn apo gēs epi to ouranion hypsos diēkousan, kaiton Theon epʼ autēs estērigmenon, hoion dē nyn kai hēminē dia tōn makarismōn didaskalia poiei, aei pros ta hypsēlotera tōn noēmatōn tous diʼ autēs aniontas epairousa. Kai gar ekei tǭ patriarchę̄ ton katʼ aretēn oimai bion tǭ eidei tēs klimakos diatypousthai, hōs an hautos te mathoi kai tois metʼ auton hyphēgēsaito, hoti ouk estin allōs pros ton Theon hypsōthēnai, mē aei pros ta anō bleponta, kai tēn tōn hypsēlōn epithymian alēkton echonta, ōs mē agapąn epitōn ēdē katorthōthentōn menein, alla zēmian poieisthai, hei tou hyperkeimenou mē hapsaito. Kai entautha oun hypsos tōn epʼ allēlōn makarismōn autǭ prosengizein tǭ Theǭ paraskeuazei, tǭ alēthōs makariǭ, kai pasēs epestērigmenǭ makariotētos. Pantōs de, hōs tǭ
… of the things understood to be better, is grasped: God the Word himself, the virtue that covered the heavens, as Habakkuk relates; and rightly were those who hunger for this righteousness of God called blessed. For truly whoever has tasted the Lord, as the Psalm says — that is, has received God into himself — becomes full of what he thirsted and hungered for, according to the promise of the one who said, “I and the Father will come and make our dwelling with him,” the Holy Spirit evidently having made his dwelling there first. So it seems to me that the great Paul too, who tasted those ineffable fruits of paradise, was both full of what he tasted and always hungry. For he confesses that he has been filled with what he longed for, saying, “Christ lives in me”; and as one always hungering he strains forward to what lies ahead, saying, “Not that I have already received it or am already perfect, but I run so as to lay hold of it.” Let us be allowed, by way of hypothesis, to say something that nature does not allow. With perceptible food, if nothing of what is taken as nourishment were excreted as residue, but the whole were taken up into an increase of bodily stature, bodies would be raised to a great height, the daily food by itself increasing their size. So that righteousness, and all virtue with it, since it is not excreted when eaten in the intellectual manner of eating, always makes those who share in it taller by itself, always increasing their size by its own addition. If, then, we have understood the blessed hunger, let us vomit up all the surfeit that comes from vice and hunger for the righteousness of God, so that we may also come to be filled with it, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Perhaps it is something of this kind that Jacob was taught in a riddle through a vision, when he saw a ladder reaching from earth to the height of heaven and God standing upon it; such as the teaching of the Beatitudes now does for us, always raising those who climb by it to higher thoughts. There, I think, the life of virtue was portrayed to the patriarch in the form of the ladder, so that he might learn himself and teach those after him that one cannot be raised to God in any other way than by always looking upward and having an unceasing desire for lofty things — not being content to remain in what has already been achieved, but counting it a loss not to lay hold of what lies beyond. Here too, then, the height of the Beatitudes, one above another, prepares the climber to draw near to God himself, who is truly blessed and on whom all blessedness rests. Surely, as we draw near
Chapter 1249
1249PG 44:1249a–1249d
σοφῷ διὰ σοφίας, καὶ διά καθαρότητος τῷ καθαρῷ προσεγγίζομεν, οὑτω καὶ τῷ μακαρίῳ διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῶν μακαρισμῶν οἰκειούμεθα. Θεοῦ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἴδιον ἡ μακαριότης ἐστίν· διὸ καὶ ὲπεστηρίχθαι τῇ τοιαύτῃ κλίμακι 6 Ἰακὼβ τὸν Θεὸν διηγήσατο. Ἢ οὖν τῶν μακαρισμῶν μετουσία οὐδὲν ἄλλο, εί μὴ θεό τητος κοινωνία. ἐστὶ, πρὸς ἦν ἡμᾶς ἀνάγει διὰ τῶν λεγομένων ὁ Κύριος. Δοκεῖ οῦν μοι θεοποιεῖν τρόπον τινὰ διὰ τῆς είς τὸ ἀκόλουθον προκειμένης τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ ὑφηγήσεως, τὸν ἀκούοντά τε καὶ συνιέντα τοῦ λόγου.Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται. Οἶδα πολλαχοῦ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς, τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ ὲλεὴμονος τοὺς ἁγίους ἄνδρας τὴν Θείαν δύναμιν προσκαλουμένους ° οὑτως 6 Δαβὶδ ὲν ταῖς ὑμνῳδίαις· οὕτως Ἰωνᾶς ἐν τῇ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν προφητείᾳ οὑτως 6 μέγας Μωῦσῆς ἐν πολλοῖς τῆς νομοθεσίας κατανομάζειτὺθεῖον. Εἰ οὑν πρέπουσα τῷ Θεῷ ή προσηγορία τοῦ ὲλεήμονος ο τί ἄλλο καὶ οὑχὶ θεόν σε προσκαλεῖται γενέσθαι 6 λόγος, οἱονεὶ μορφωθέντα τῷ τῆς θεότητος …; Εἰ γὰρ ἐλεήμων 6 Θεὸς παρά τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς ὀνομάζεται ° τὸ δὲ ἀληθῶς μακαριστὸν, ἡ θεότης ὲστί · φανερὸν ἂν εἴη τὸ ὲκ τοῦ ἀκολούθου νοούμενον,ὅτι κᾶν ἄνθρωπός τις ὢν ἐλεήμων γένηται, τῆς θείας ἀξιοῦται μακαριότητος, ὲν ἐκείνῳ γενόμενος, τὸ Θεῖον κατονομάζεται. Ἐλεήμων ό Κύριος καὶ δίκαιος, καὶ ό Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐλεεῖ. Πῶς οὖν οὑ μακάριον ἐκεῖνο κληθῆναι καὶ γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ᾧπερ 6 Θεὸς ὲκ τοῦ ποιεῖν ὀνομάζεται ; ἀλλά τὸ μὲν ζηλοῦν τὰ μείζονα τῶν χαρισμάτων, συμβουλεύει διὰ τῶν ίδίων λόγων καὶ 6 θεῖος ’Λπόστολος ἡμῖν δὲ σκοπός ἐστιν, οὐχ ὅπως ἀναπεισθείημεν τῶν καλῶν ὀρέγεσθαι (τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτομάτως ἔγκειται τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, τὸ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ὲπιρῤεπῶς ἔχειν) ο ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἂν μὴ ἁμάρτοιμεν τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσεως. Ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ μάλιστα τῷ μέρει πλημμελεῖται ἡμῶν ὴ ζωὴ, ὲν τῷ μὴδύνασθαι ἀκριβῶς συνιέναι τί τὸ φύσει καλὸν, καὶ τί τὸ διʼ ἀπάτης τοιοῦτον ὑπονοούμενον. Εἰ γὰρ γυμνὴ προέκειτο ἡ κακία τῷ βίῳ, καὶ μή τινι καλοῦ φαντασίφπροσκεχρωσμένη, οὑκ ἂν ηὐτομόλησε πρὸς αὐτὴν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Οὑκοῦν συνέσεως ήμῖι χρεία, πρός τὴν τοῦ προκειμένου ῥητοῦ κατανόησιν, ὡς ἂν διδαχθέντες τὸ ἀληθινὸν τοῦ ἐγκειμένου νοήματος κάλλος, κατʼ αὑτὸ μορφωθείημεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ περὶ τὸ Θεῖον ὑπόληψις, ἔγκειται μὲν πᾶσι φυσικῶς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις · ὲν δὲ τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ ἀληθῶς ὄντος Θεοῦ,ή περὶ τὸ σπουδαζόμενον γίνεται δι·αμαρτία (οἷς μὲν γὰρὴ ἀληθὴς θεότης ἐστὶ σεβάσμιος, ὴ ὲν Πατρὶ, καὶ Υἱῷ,κοιὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι θεωρουμένη· οἱ δὲ πρὸς ἀτόπους ὑπονοίας ἐπλανήθησαν, ὲν τῇ κτίσει τοιοῦτον ὑπονοοῦντες ’καὶ διὰ τοῦτοή ἐν ὀλίγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας παρατροπὴ, τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ τὴν πάροδον δέδωκεν) · οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ προκειμένου νοήματος, εί μὴ καταλάβοιμεν τὴν ἀληθῆ διάνοιαν, οὑκ ἐν ὀλίγῳ ’
sophǭ dia sophias, kai dia katharotētos tǭ katharǭ prosengizomen, houtō kai tǭ makariǭ dia tēs hodou tōn makarismōn oikeioumetha. Theou gar hōs alēthōs idion hē makariotēs estin; dio kai epestērichthai tę̄ toiautę̄ klimaki 6 Iakōb ton Theon diēgēsato. Ē oun tōn makarismōn metousia ouden allo, ei mē theo tētos koinōnia. esti, pros ēn hēmas anagei dia tōn legomenōn ho Kyrios. Dokei oun moi theopoiein tropon tina dia tēs eis to akolouthon prokeimenēs tou makarismou hyphēgēseōs, ton akouonta te kai synienta tou logou.Makarioi gar, phēsin, hoi eleēmones, hoti autoi eleēthēsontai. Oida pollachou tēs theias Graphēs, tǭ onomati tou eleēmonos tous hagious andras tēn Theian dynamin proskaloumenous ° houtōs 6 Dabid en tais hymnǭdiais; houtōs Iōnas en tę̄ kathʼ heauton prophēteią houtōs 6 megas Mōysēs en pollois tēs nomothesias katanomazeitytheion. Ei houn prepousa tǭ Theǭ ē prosēgoria tou eleēmonos o ti allo kai houchi theon se proskaleitai genesthai 6 logos, hoionei morphōthenta tǭ tēs theotētos …? Ei gar eleēmōn 6 Theos para tēs theopneustou Graphēs onomazetai ° to de alēthōs makariston, hē theotēs esti ; phaneron an eiē to ek tou akolouthou nooumenon,hoti kan anthrōpos tis ōn eleēmōn genētai, tēs theias axioutai makariotētos, en ekeinǭ genomenos, to Theion katonomazetai. Eleēmōn o Kyrios kai dikaios, kai o Theos hēmōn eleei. Pōs oun hou makarion ekeino klēthēnai kai genesthai ton anthrōpon, hǭper 6 Theos ek tou poiein onomazetai ? alla to men zēloun ta meizona tōn charismatōn, symbouleuei dia tōn idiōn logōn kai 6 theios ’Lpostolos hēmin de skopos estin, ouch hopōs anapeistheiēmen tōn kalōn oregesthai (touto gar automatōs enkeitai tę̄ anthrōpinę̄ physei, to pros to kalon epirrepōs echein) o allʼ hopōs an mē hamartoimen tēs tou kalou kriseōs. En toutǭ gar malista tǭ merei plēmmeleitai hēmōn ē zōē, en tǭ mēdynasthai akribōs synienai ti to physei kalon, kai ti to diʼ apatēs toiouton hyponooumenon. Ei gar gymnē proekeito hē kakia tǭ biǭ, kai mē tini kalou phantasiphproskechrōsmenē, houk an ēutomolēse pros autēn to anthrōpinon. Houkoun syneseōs ēmii chreia, pros tēn tou prokeimenou rhētou katanoēsin, hōs an didachthentes to alēthinon tou enkeimenou noēmatos kallos, katʼ hauto morphōtheiēmen. Hōsper gar hē peri to Theion hypolēpsis, enkeitai men pasi physikōs tois anthrōpois ; en de tę̄ agnoią tou alēthōs ontos Theou,ē peri to spoudazomenon ginetai di;amartia (hois men garē alēthēs theotēs esti sebasmios, ē en Patri, kai Huiǭ,koii hagiǭ Pneumati theōroumenē; hoi de pros atopous hyponoias eplanēthēsan, en tę̄ ktisei toiouton hyponoountes ’kai dia toutoē en oligǭ tēs alētheias paratropē, tę̄ asebeią tēn parodon dedōken) ; houtō kai epi tou prokeimenou noēmatos, ei mē katalaboimen tēn alēthē dianoian, houk en oligǭ ’
the wise through wisdom and the pure through purity, so too we are made akin to the Blessed One through the road of the Beatitudes. For blessedness is truly proper to God; that is why Jacob related that God was standing on such a ladder. So sharing in the Beatitudes is nothing other than communion with the Godhead, to which the Lord leads us up by what he says. It seems to me, then, that by the guidance of the beatitude that comes next he in a way deifies the one who hears and understands the saying. For “blessed,” he says, “are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” I know that in many places of divine Scripture the holy men call upon the divine power by the name “merciful”: so David in his hymns, so Jonah in his prophecy, so the great Moses in many parts of the law names the Divine. If, then, the title “merciful” befits God, what else does the Word call you to become but God, as though formed in the likeness of the Godhead? For if God is named merciful by the divinely inspired Scripture, and what is truly blessed is the Godhead, the consequence would be plain: if someone, though a human being, becomes merciful, he is deemed worthy of divine blessedness, having come to be that by which the Divine is named. “The Lord is merciful and just, and our God has mercy.” How, then, is it not blessed for a human being to be called, and to become, that by which God is named from what he does? But the divine Apostle too counsels us in his own words to be zealous for the greater gifts. Our aim is not that we be persuaded to desire good things — for this lies naturally in human nature, to incline toward the good — but that we do not go wrong in judging the good. For our life goes wrong above all in this: in being unable to understand exactly what is good by nature and what is thought to be so through deception. If vice were set before life naked and not coloured with some appearance of good, humanity would not have deserted to it. So we need understanding to grasp the saying before us, so that, taught the true beauty of the meaning that lies in it, we may be formed in accordance with it. For just as the notion of the Divine lies naturally in all human beings, but through ignorance of the truly existing God error arises about what is pursued — for some the true Godhead, contemplated in Father and Son and Holy Spirit, is to be revered, while others have strayed into absurd suppositions, supposing such a thing in the creation, and so a small departure from the truth has opened the way to impiety — so too in the meaning before us, unless we grasp the true sense, the loss of truth would come to us through no small
Chapter 1251
1251PG 44:1252a–1252d
1(ὶέιῖ γένοιτο ἂν ἡμῖν ὴ ζημία τῆς ἀληθείας napaka σιν.. Τί τοίνυν ἐστὶν 6 ἕλεος. καὶ περὶ τί ὲνεργούμενοςς Καὶ πῶς μακάριος 6 ἀντιλαμβάνων, ὃ δίδωσιν ςῌαπάριθι γάρ, φησιν, οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται. Ἡ μὲν οὖν πρόχειρος τοῦ ῥητοῦ διάνοια, πρὸς τὸ φιλάλληλον τε καὶ συμπαθὲς προσκαλεῖται τὸν ἄνθρωπον, διὰ τὸ ἀνισόν τε διαὶ ἀνώμαλον τῶν τοῦ βίου πραγμάτων ού πάντων ἐν τοῖς ὁμοίοις βιοτευόντων, οὔτε κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν, οὔτε κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σιῖξματος κατασκευὴν, οὔτε κατά τὴν λοιπὴν περιουο at“... Μεμέρισται γέρ ὡς τὰ solum τῶᾴ ἐναντίων 6 βίος, δουλείᾳ καὶ κυριότητι, πλούτῳ καὶ πενίᾳ, δόξῃ καὶ ἀτιμίᾳ, σαθρότητι σώματος καὶ εὐεξίᾳ, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς τοιούτοις διασχιζόμενος. Ὦς ἂν οὖν είς ἴσον ἕλθοι τῷ πλεονεκτοῦντι τὸ ὑστερούμενον, καὶ ἀναπληρωθείη τὸ λειπόμενον τῷ περισσεύοντι, νομοθετεῖ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπὶ τῶν καταδεεστέρων τὸ ἔλεον. Ού γάρ ἐστιν ἄλλως πρὸς θεραπείαν τῆς συμφορᾶς τοῦ πέλας ὁρμῆσαι, μὴ ἐλέου τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην ὀρμὴν ἐκμαλάξαντος ἐκ γάρ τοῦ ἐναντίου τῇ ἀπηνέα νοεῖται 6 ἕλεος. Ὠς οὖν 6 ἀπηνής τε καὶ ἄγρα, ἀπροσο πέλαστός ἐστι τοῖς ἐγγίζουσιν ° οὕτως 6 συμπαθής τε καὶ ἐλεήμων, κατακιρνᾶταί πως τῇ διαθέσει πρὸς τὸ δεόμενον, ἐκείνῳ τῷ λυπουμένῳ γενόμενος, ὃ ἐπιζητεῖ ἠ ἀνιωμένη διάνοια. Καὶ ἔστιν 6 ἕλεος, ὡς ἀν τις ὅρῳ περιλαόὼν ἐρμηνεύσειεν, ἑκούσιος λύπη ἐπʼ ἀλλοτρίοις κακοῖς συνισταμένη. Et δὲ ούκ ἀκριβῶς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ παρεστήσαμεν · τάχα ἂν ἄλλῳ λόγῳ διερμηνευθείη σαφέστερον. Ἔλεός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῶν δυσφορούντων ἐπί τισιν ἀνιαροῖς ἀγαπητικὴ πνδιάθεσις. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὺ ἀπηνές τε καὶ θηριῶδες, ἀπὸ τοῦ μίσους τὰς ἀφορμάς ἔχειν οὕτως ἐκφύεταί πως τῆς ἀγάπης 6 ἔλεος, οὐκ ἂν γενόμενος, εί μὴ ἐκ ταύτης. Καὶ εῖ τις ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσειε τὸ τοῦ ἐλέου ἰδίωμα, ἐπίτασιν εὑρήσει τῆς ἀγαπητικῆς διαθέσεως, τῷ κατὰ τὴν λύπην πάθει συμμεμιγμένην. Ἦ μὲν γάρ τῶν καλῶν κοινωνία πᾶσιν ὁμοίιος, καὶ ἐχθροῖς, καὶ φίλοις 6:01:35:ζεταιτ τὸ esse»; ἀνιαρῶν κοινωνεῖν ἐθέλειν, μόνον ῐδιον τῶν τῇ ἀγάπῃ κεκρατημένων ἐστίν. Ἀλλὰ μὴν πάντων ὡμολόγηται τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον ἐπιτηδευομένων ή ἀγάπη τὸ κράτιστον εἶναι. Ἐπίτασις δὲ ἀγάπης ὁ ἔλεος. Κυρίως ἄρα μακαριστὸς, 6 ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ διαθέσει τὴν ψυχὴν ἔχων, ὡς τοῦ ἀκροτάτου κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐφαπτόμενος· καὶ μηδεὶς ἐν μόναις ταῖς ὕλαις τὴν ἀρετὴν θεωρείτω· οὕτω γὰρ ἄν ού πάντως εἴη κατόρθωμα τὸ τοιοῦτον, πλὴν τοῦ δύναμίν τινα πρὸς εὐποιΐαν ἔχοντοςο ἀλλά μοι δοκεῖ δικαιόο τερον ἐν προαιρέσει τὸ τοιοῦτον «βλέπειν. ’0 γὰρ θελήσας τὸ ἀγαθὸν μόνον, κωλυθεὶς δὲ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν, τῷ μὴ δύνασθαι, κατʼ οὐδὲν ἐλαττοῦται τῆς ψυχῆς διαθέσει, τοῦ διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὴν γνώμην δείξαντος.
1(ieii genoito an hēmin ē zēmia tēs alētheias napaka sin.. Ti toinyn estin 6 heleos. kai peri ti energoumenoss Kai pōs makarios 6 antilambanōn, ho didōsin sĘ̄aparithi gar, phēsin, hoi eleēmones, hoti autoi eleēthēsontai. Hē men oun procheiros tou rhētou dianoia, pros to philallēlon te kai sympathes proskaleitai ton anthrōpon, dia to anison te diai anōmalon tōn tou biou pragmatōn ou pantōn en tois homoiois bioteuontōn, oute kata tēn axian, oute kata tēn tou siixmatos kataskeuēn, oute kata tēn loipēn periouo at“... Memeristai ger hōs ta solum tōą enantiōn 6 bios, douleią kai kyriotēti, ploutǭ kai penią, doxę̄ kai atimią, sathrotēti sōmatos kai euexią, kai pasi tois toioutois diaschizomenos. Ōs an oun eis ison helthoi tǭ pleonektounti to hysteroumenon, kai anaplērōtheiē to leipomenon tǭ perisseuonti, nomothetei tois anthrōpois epi tōn katadeesterōn to eleon. Ou gar estin allōs pros therapeian tēs symphoras tou pelas hormēsai, mē eleou tēn psychēn pros tēn toiautēn ormēn ekmalaxantos ek gar tou enantiou tę̄ apēnea noeitai 6 heleos. Ōs oun 6 apēnēs te kai agra, aproso pelastos esti tois engizousin ° houtōs 6 sympathēs te kai eleēmōn, katakirnatai pōs tę̄ diathesei pros to deomenon, ekeinǭ tǭ lypoumenǭ genomenos, ho epizētei ē aniōmenē dianoia. Kai estin 6 heleos, hōs an tis horǭ perilaoōn ermēneuseien, hekousios lypē epʼ allotriois kakois synistamenē. Et de ouk akribōs tēn dianoian autou parestēsamen ; tacha an allǭ logǭ diermēneutheiē saphesteron. Eleos estin epi tōn dysphorountōn epi tisin aniarois agapētikē pndiathesis. Hōsper gar ty apēnes te kai thēriōdes, apo tou misous tas aphormas echein houtōs ekphyetai pōs tēs agapēs 6 eleos, ouk an genomenos, ei mē ek tautēs. Kai ei tis akribōs exetaseie to tou eleou idiōma, epitasin heurēsei tēs agapētikēs diatheseōs, tǭ kata tēn lypēn pathei symmemigmenēn. Ē men gar tōn kalōn koinōnia pasin homoiios, kai echthrois, kai philois 6:01:35:zetait to esse»? aniarōn koinōnein ethelein, monon idion tōn tę̄ agapę̄ kekratēmenōn estin. Alla mēn pantōn hōmologētai tōn kata ton bion touton epitēdeuomenōn ē agapē to kratiston einai. Epitasis de agapēs ho eleos. Kyriōs ara makaristos, 6 en tę̄ toiautę̄ diathesei tēn psychēn echōn, hōs tou akrotatou kata tēn aretēn ephaptomenos; kai mēdeis en monais tais hylais tēn aretēn theōreitō; houtō gar an ou pantōs eiē katorthōma to toiouton, plēn tou dynamin tina pros eupoiïan echontoso alla moi dokei dikaioo teron en proairesei to toiouton «blepein. ’0 gar thelēsas to agathon monon, kōlytheis de pros to kalon, tǭ mē dynasthai, katʼ ouden elattoutai tēs psychēs diathesei, tou dia tōn ergōn tēn gnōmēn deixantos.
departure. What, then, is mercy, and about what is it exercised? And how is one blessed who receives back what he gives? For “blessed,” he says, “are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” The obvious sense of the saying calls the human being to mutual love and sympathy, because of the inequality and unevenness of the affairs of life, since not all live in like conditions, whether in rank, or in bodily constitution, or in other kinds of abundance. Life is divided, as it were, into opposites: slavery and mastery, wealth and poverty, glory and dishonour, weakness of body and good health, and is split apart by all such things. So that what falls short may come to equality with what has more, and what is lacking may be filled up from what abounds, he lays down mercy toward the needier as a law for human beings. For one cannot set out to cure a neighbour’s misfortune unless mercy has softened the soul toward such an impulse; mercy is understood as the opposite of harshness. As the harsh and savage man cannot be approached by those who come near, so the sympathetic and merciful man is in a way blended by his disposition with the one in need, becoming for the grieving person what his troubled mind seeks. Mercy, if one were to sum it up in a definition, is a voluntary grief that arises over the evils of others. If we have not presented its meaning exactly, perhaps it might be expressed more clearly in another way: mercy is a loving fellow-feeling toward those who are distressed by painful things. For as harshness and savagery have their starting point in hatred, so mercy somehow grows out of love, and could not arise except from it. And if one examines exactly what is proper to mercy, he will find it to be an intensifying of the loving disposition, mixed with the feeling of grief. Sharing in good things is sought alike by all, enemies and friends; but to wish to share in painful things is proper only to those who are ruled by love. Now it is agreed that of all the things practised in this life love is the best; and mercy is an intensifying of love. Properly blessed, then, is one who has his soul in such a disposition, since he touches the highest point of virtue. And let no one think that this virtue is seen only in material goods; for then such an achievement would belong only to one who has some means for doing good. It seems to me more just to see it in the will. For one who has only willed the good, but was prevented from doing the good because he was unable, is in no way inferior in the disposition of his soul to one who has shown his intention through works.
Chapter 1253
1253PG 44:1253a–1253d
Ὅσον μὲν οὗν κέρδος έστί τῷ βίῳ, εἰ πρὸς τοῦτό τις ἐκλαμβάνει τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν, περιττὸν ἂν εἰη διεξιέναι, φανερῶν ὄντων καὶ τοῖς κομιδῆ νηπίοις, τῶν ὲκ τῆς συμβουλῆς ταύτης τῷ βίῳ κατορθουμένων. Εἰ γὰρ πᾶσι καθʼ ὑπόθεσιν ἡ τοιαύτη τῆς ψυχῆς ἐγγένοιτο πρὸς τὸ ἐλαττούμενον σχέσις, οὐκέτʼ ἂν εἰη τὸ ὑπερέχον, καὶ ἐλαττούμενον* οὐκέτι πρὸς ητά ἐναντία τῶν ὀνομάτων 6 βίος διενεχθήσεται· οὐκ ἀνιάσει πενία τὸν ἄνθρωπον· οὐ ταπεινώσει δουλεία· οὑ λυπήσει ἀτιμία · πάντα γάρ ἔσται πᾶσι κοινά· καὶ ἰσονομία καὶ ἰσηγορία τῷ βίῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐμπολιτεύεται· ἑκουσίως τοῦ πολιτεύοντος πρὸς τὸ λεϊπον ὲξισουμένου. Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο γένοιτο, οὐκέτʼ ἂν ὑπολειφθείη τις ἀπεχθείας ὑπόθεσιςυ ἀργὸς 6 φθόνος· νεκρὸν τὸ μῖσος · ὑπερόριος ἠ μνησικακία, τὸ ψεῦδος, ἡ ἀπάτη, 6 πόλεμος· (ἆπερ ἔγγονα πάντα τῇ τοῦ πλείονος ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἐστίν.) Ἐκείνης δὲ τῆς ἀσυμπαθοῦς διαθέσεως ἐξορισθείσης, συνεκβάλλεται πάντως. οἷόν τινι πονηρᾷ ῥίζῃ, τά τῆς κακίας βλαστήματα. Τῇ.δὲ τῶν πονηρῶν ὑπεξαιρέσει 6 τῶν ἀγαθῶν κατά- λογος ἀντεισέρχεται, εἰρήνη καὶ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ πᾶσα τῶν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον νοουμένων ἀκολουθία. Τί τοίνυν ἂν εἴη μακαριστότερον, τὸ οὕτω τὸν βίον ἔχειν, οὐκέτι μοχλοῖς καὶ λίθοις τὴν ἀσφάλειαν τῆς σμένων; Ὠσπερ γὰρ 6 ἀπηνής τε καὶ θηριώδης, δυσμενεῖς ἐαυτῷ τοὺς τῆς ἀγριότητος πεπειραμένους ποιεῖʼ οὕτως ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου, εὖνοι ἅπαντες τῷ ὲλεοῦντι γινόμεθα, φυσικῶς τοῖς μετέχουσι τοῦ ὲλέου τὴν ἀγάπην ἐντίκτοντος. Οὐκοῦν ἐστιν 6 ἕλεος, ῶς γε 6 λόγος ὑπέδειξεν, εὐνοίας πατὴρ, ἀγάπης ἐνέχυρον, σύνδεσμος πάσης φιλικῆς διαθέσεωςʼ τῆς δὲ ἀσφαλείας ταύτης, τί ἂν ἐπινοηθείη κατά τὴν ζωὴν ὀχυρώτερον; Ὥστε εἰκότως 6 Λόγος μακαρίζει τὸν ἐλεήμονα, τοσούτων ἀγαθῶν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ ἐμφαινομένων. ’Δλλάτὺ μὲν βιωφελῆ τὴν τοιαύτην συμὸουλὴν εἶναι, παντός ἐστι μὴ ἀγνοῆσαι ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεί πλέον τι τῶν ὲκ τοῦ προχείρου νοουμένων, τῇ τοῦ μέλλοντος ὲκλήψει διʼ ἀπορρήτων παραδηλῶν ἡ διάνοια. Μακάριοι γάρ, φησὶν, οἱ ἐλεήμονες· ὅτι αὑο τοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται ὡς ὕστερον ἀποκειμένης τοῖς ἐλεοῦσι τῆς κατὰ τὸν ἔλεον ἀντιδόσεως.
Hoson men houn kerdos esti tǭ biǭ, ei pros touto tis eklambanei tou makarismou tēn dianoian, peritton an eiē diexienai, phanerōn ontōn kai tois komidē nēpiois, tōn ek tēs symboulēs tautēs tǭ biǭ katorthoumenōn. Ei gar pasi kathʼ hypothesin hē toiautē tēs psychēs engenoito pros to elattoumenon schesis, ouketʼ an eiē to hyperechon, kai elattoumenon* ouketi pros ēta enantia tōn onomatōn 6 bios dienechthēsetai; ouk aniasei penia ton anthrōpon; ou tapeinōsei douleia; hou lypēsei atimia ; panta gar estai pasi koina; kai isonomia kai isēgoria tǭ biǭ tōn anthrōpōn empoliteuetai; hekousiōs tou politeuontos pros to leïpon exisoumenou. Ei de touto genoito, ouketʼ an hypoleiphtheiē tis apechtheias hypothesisy argos 6 phthonos; nekron to misos ; hyperorios ē mnēsikakia, to pseudos, hē apatē, 6 polemos; (aper engona panta tę̄ tou pleionos epithymią estin.) Ekeinēs de tēs asympathous diatheseōs exoristheisēs, synekballetai pantōs. hoion tini ponērą rhizę̄, ta tēs kakias blastēmata. Tę̄.de tōn ponērōn hypexairesei 6 tōn agathōn kata- logos anteiserchetai, eirēnē kai dikaiosynē, kai pasa tōn pros to kreitton nooumenōn akolouthia. Ti toinyn an eiē makaristoteron, to houtō ton bion echein, ouketi mochlois kai lithois tēn asphaleian tēs smenōn? Ōsper gar 6 apēnēs te kai thēriōdēs, dysmeneis eautǭ tous tēs agriotētos pepeiramenous poieiʼ houtōs ek tou enantiou, eunoi hapantes tǭ eleounti ginometha, physikōs tois metechousi tou eleou tēn agapēn entiktontos. Oukoun estin 6 heleos, ōs ge 6 logos hypedeixen, eunoias patēr, agapēs enechyron, syndesmos pasēs philikēs diatheseōsʼ tēs de asphaleias tautēs, ti an epinoētheiē kata tēn zōēn ochyrōteron? Hōste eikotōs 6 Logos makarizei ton eleēmona, tosoutōn agathōn tǭ onomati toutǭ emphainomenōn. ’Dllaty men biōphelē tēn toiautēn symooulēn einai, pantos esti mē agnoēsai emoi de dokei pleon ti tōn ek tou procheirou nooumenōn, tę̄ tou mellontos eklēpsei diʼ aporrētōn paradēlōn hē dianoia. Makarioi gar, phēsin, hoi eleēmones; hoti hauo toi eleēthēsontai hōs hysteron apokeimenēs tois eleousi tēs kata ton eleon antidoseōs.
How great a gain there is for life if one takes the meaning of the beatitude in this way it would be superfluous to describe, since what this counsel achieves in life is plain even to small children. For if, supposing it were so, such an attitude of soul toward those who are lacking arose in all, there would no longer be superior and inferior; life would no longer be torn between opposite names; poverty would not distress anyone, slavery would not humble him, dishonour would not grieve him; for all things would be common to all, and equality of law and equal freedom of speech would govern human life, as the one who has more freely made himself equal to what is lacking. If this happened, no occasion for enmity would be left: envy would be idle, hatred dead, rancour banished, and with it falsehood, deceit, and war — all of which are offspring of the desire for more. When that unsympathetic disposition is banished, the shoots of vice are thrown out along with it, as with an evil root; and with the removal of evils, the list of goods comes in instead: peace and justice and the whole series of things understood as better. What, then, would be more blessed than for life to be so, no longer … security with bars and stones … For as the harsh and savage man makes enemies of those who have experienced his savagery, so, on the contrary, we all become well-disposed toward the merciful man, since mercy naturally begets love in those who receive it. So mercy is, as our discourse has shown, the father of goodwill, the pledge of love, the bond of every friendly disposition; and what firmer security than this could be devised in life? So the Word rightly blesses the merciful, since so many goods are disclosed in this name. That such counsel is beneficial for life, no one can fail to know. But it seems to me that the meaning secretly hints at something more than what is understood at first sight, by referring to what is to come. For “blessed,” he says, “are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” — as though the reward for mercy were laid up for the merciful later.
Chapter 1255
1255PG 44:1256a–1256d
τῶν καλῶν ἔξωθεν ἐπεισκρίνεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν εἶʼ ναι ὅπερ βουλόμεθα, οἷον ἐκ ταμείου τινὸς προχειριζομένους τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐκ τῆς φύσεως· ἀπὸ μέρους γὰρ περὶʼ τοῦ παντὸς διδασκόμεθα, ὅτι οῦκ ἐστιν ἄλλως τινὰ τῶν κατʼ ἐπιθυμίαν τυχεῖν, μὴ αὐτὸν ἐαυτῷ τὸ ἀγαθὸν χαριζόμενον· διό φησί που πρὸς τοὺς emimτας 6 Κύριος, ὅτι Ἠ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστινʼ καὶ, ὅτι Πᾶς ό αἰτῶν λαμβάνει, καὶ ν ό ζητῶν εὑρίσκει, καὶ τῷ κρούοντι ἀνοιγήσεται· ὼς καὶ τὸ λαβεῖν τὸ ποθούμενον, καὶ τὸ εὑρεῖν τὸ ζητούμενον, καὶ τὸ ἐντὸς τῶν ἐπιθυμουμένων γενέσθαι, ἐφʼ ἡμῖν εἶναι ὅταν βουλώμεθα, καὶ τῆς ἡμετὲ- Pa; ἐξηρτῆσθαι γνώμης. τῼ κατά τὺ ἀκόλουθον σογκατασκευάζεται, καὶ τὸ ἐξ ἐναντίου νοούμενον, ὅτι καὶὴ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ῥοπὴ, μηδεμιᾶς ἔξωθεν βιαζομένης ἀνάγκης ἐγγίνεται, ἀλλʼ ὁμοῦ τὸ ἑλέσθαι τδ κακὸν, ὑφίσταται, τότε είς γένεσιν παραγενόμενον. ὅταν ἑλώμεθαο αὐτὸ δέ ἐφʼ ἐαυτοῦ κατʼ ἰδίαν 6:6στασιν ἔξω προαιρέσεως, οὐδαμοῦ τὸ κακὸν εὑρίσκεται κείμενον. Ἐκ δὲ τούτων ὴ αὑτοκρατής τε καὶ αὐτ· εξούσιος δύναμις, ἣν ἐνετεκτήνατο τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων 6 τῆς φύσεως Κύριος, σαφῶς ἐπιδείκνυται, διὰ τοῦ πάντα τῆς προαιρέσεως τῆς ἡμετέρας ὴρτῆ· σθαι, εἴτε ἀγαθὰ, εἴτε χείρονα ο τὴν δὲ θείαν κρίσιν ἀδεκάστῳ καὶ δικαίῳ ψήφῳ τῆς κατά τὴν ἡμετέραν πρόθεσιν ἑπομένην, ἐκεῖνο νέμειν ἐκάστῳ, ὅπερ ἂν ἐαυτῷ τις παρεχόμενος τύχῃ* τοῖς μὲν, καθώς φη· σιν 6 Ἀπόστολος, καθʼ ὑπομονὴν ἔργου ἀγαθοῦ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ζητοῦσι, ζωὴν αἰώνιον · τοῖς δὲ ἀπειθοῦσι μὲν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, πειθομένοις δὲ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, ὀργὴν καὶ θλίψιν, καὶ πάντα ὅσα τῆς σκυθρωπῆς ἀντιδόσεὼς ἐστιν ὀνόματα. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ ἀκριβῆ τῶν κατόπτρων τοιαύτας δείκνυσι τὰς τῶν προσώπων ἐμφάσεις, οἷά περ ἂν τὰ πρόσωπα ᾗ, φαιδρὰ μὲν τῶν φαιδρυνομένων, κατηφῆ δὲ τῶν σκυθρωπαζόντωνο καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις αἰτιάσαιτο τὴν τοῦ κατόπτρου φύσιν, εί σκεθρωπὸν ἐμφανείη τὸ ἀπεικόνισμα τοῦ πρωτοτύπου διε κατηφείας συμπεπτωκότος· οὕτω καὶ ἡ δικαία τώ Θεοῦ κρίσις ταῖς ἡμετέραις διαθέσεσιν ἐξομοιοῦται, οἷάπερ ἂν τὰ παρʼ ἡμῶν ᾖ, τοιαῦτα ἡμῖν ὲκ τῶν ίδίων παρέχουσα. Δεῦτε, φησὶν, οὶ εὐλογημένοι· καὶ, Πορεύεσθε, ol κατηραμένοι. Μή τις ἀνάγκη τῶν ἔξωθεν ἐπὶ τούτων ἐστὶν, τοῖς δεξιοῖς μὲν τὴν γλυκεῖαν φωνὴν, τοῖς δὲ ἀριστεροῖς τὴν σκυθρωπὴν ἀποκληροῦσαʼ; Οῦχ οὗτοι μὲν διʼ ὧν ἐποίησαν, ἔσχον τὸν ἔλεον, οἱ δέ τῷ πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοφύλους ἀπηνῶς ἔχειν, ὰπηνές ἐαυτοῖς τὸ Θείον ἐποίησαν; Οὐκ ἠλέησε τὸν τῷ πυλῶνι προσταλαιπωροῦντα πτωχὸν, 6 ταῖς τρυφαῖς διακεχυμένος πλούσιος, διὰ τοῦτο ἐαυτῷ ἀπο· κόπτει τὸν ἔλεον, ἐλεηθῆναι δεόμενος, καὶ οὐκ ἀκουόι μενος· οὐχ ὃτι ζημίαν ἔφερε μία ῥανὶς εἰς τὴν μεγάλην τοῦ παραδείσου πηγὴν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἡ τῆς ἐλεη μοσύνης στα· γὼν ἀμίκτως ἔχει πρὸς τὴν ἀπήνειαν. Τις γὰρ κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος-ς Οἷα, φησὶν, ἂν σπείρῃ ὁ θρωπος, τοιαῦτα καί θερίσει· ὅτι 6 σπείρων εἰς τὴν σάρκαν ὲκ τῆς σαρκὸς θερίσει φθοράν* 6 δὲ cmiρων είς τὸ πνεῦμα ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος θερίσει ζωὴν
tōn kalōn exōthen epeiskrinesthai, allʼ ephʼ hēmin eiʼ nai hoper boulometha, hoion ek tameiou tinos procheirizomenous to agathon ek tēs physeōs; apo merous gar periʼ tou pantos didaskometha, hoti ouk estin allōs tina tōn katʼ epithymian tychein, mē auton eautǭ to agathon charizomenon; dio phēsi pou pros tous emimtas 6 Kyrios, hoti Ē basileia tou Theou entos hymōn estinʼ kai, hoti Pas o aitōn lambanei, kai n o zētōn heuriskei, kai tǭ krouonti anoigēsetai; ōs kai to labein to pothoumenon, kai to heurein to zētoumenon, kai to entos tōn epithymoumenōn genesthai, ephʼ hēmin einai hotan boulōmetha, kai tēs hēmete- Pa? exērtēsthai gnōmēs. tǬ kata ty akolouthon sonkataskeuazetai, kai to ex enantiou nooumenon, hoti kaiē pros to cheiron rhopē, mēdemias exōthen biazomenēs anankēs enginetai, allʼ homou to helesthai td kakon, hyphistatai, tote eis genesin paragenomenon. hotan helōmethao auto de ephʼ eautou katʼ idian 6:6stasin exō proaireseōs, oudamou to kakon heurisketai keimenon. Ek de toutōn ē hautokratēs te kai aut; exousios dynamis, hēn enetektēnato tę̄ physei tōn anthrōpōn 6 tēs physeōs Kyrios, saphōs epideiknytai, dia tou panta tēs proaireseōs tēs hēmeteras ērtē; sthai, eite agatha, eite cheirona o tēn de theian krisin adekastǭ kai dikaiǭ psēphǭ tēs kata tēn hēmeteran prothesin hepomenēn, ekeino nemein ekastǭ, hoper an eautǭ tis parechomenos tychę̄* tois men, kathōs phē; sin 6 Apostolos, kathʼ hypomonēn ergou agathou doxan kai timēn zētousi, zōēn aiōnion ; tois de apeithousi men tę̄ alētheią, peithomenois de tę̄ adikią, orgēn kai thlipsin, kai panta hosa tēs skythrōpēs antidoseōs estin onomata. Hōsper gar ta akribē tōn katoptrōn toiautas deiknysi tas tōn prosōpōn emphaseis, hoia per an ta prosōpa hę̄, phaidra men tōn phaidrynomenōn, katēphē de tōn skythrōpazontōno kai ouk an tis aitiasaito tēn tou katoptrou physin, ei skethrōpon emphaneiē to apeikonisma tou prōtotypou die katēpheias sympeptōkotos; houtō kai hē dikaia tō Theou krisis tais hēmeterais diathesesin exomoioutai, hoiaper an ta parʼ hēmōn ę̄, toiauta hēmin ek tōn idiōn parechousa. Deute, phēsin, oi eulogēmenoi; kai, Poreuesthe, ol katēramenoi. Mē tis anankē tōn exōthen epi toutōn estin, tois dexiois men tēn glykeian phōnēn, tois de aristerois tēn skythrōpēn apoklērousaʼ? Ouch houtoi men diʼ hōn epoiēsan, eschon ton eleon, hoi de tǭ pros tous homophylous apēnōs echein, apēnes eautois to Theion epoiēsan? Ouk ēleēse ton tǭ pylōni prostalaipōrounta ptōchon, 6 tais tryphais diakechymenos plousios, dia touto eautǭ apo; koptei ton eleon, eleēthēnai deomenos, kai ouk akouoi menos; ouch hoti zēmian ephere mia rhanis eis tēn megalēn tou paradeisou pēgēn, allʼ hoti hē tēs eleē mosynēs sta; gōn amiktōs echei pros tēn apēneian. Tis gar koinōnia phōti pros skotos-s Hoia, phēsin, an speirę̄ ho thrōpos, toiauta kai therisei; hoti 6 speirōn eis tēn sarkan ek tēs sarkos therisei phthoran* 6 de cmirōn eis to pneuma ek tou pneumatos therisei zōēn
… that good things are not inserted into us from outside, but that it lies in our power to be what we wish, bringing out the good from our nature as from a storeroom. From a part we are taught about the whole: that no one can obtain anything he desires except by granting the good to himself. That is why the Lord says somewhere to his hearers, “The kingdom of God is within you,” and “Everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” So receiving what is longed for, finding what is sought, and coming to be within what is desired lie in our power whenever we wish, and depend on our own will. By consequence the opposite is established as well: the inclination toward the worse arises with no necessity forcing it from outside; evil comes into existence the moment we choose it, coming into being only when we choose; but in itself, with a subsistence of its own apart from choice, evil is found lying nowhere. From this the self-ruling and self-determining power that the Lord of nature built into human nature is clearly shown, since everything, whether good or worse, depends on our choice; and the divine judgment, following our intention with an impartial and just verdict, assigns to each what each has provided for himself: to those who, as the Apostle says, by patience in good work seek glory and honour, eternal life; to those who disobey the truth and obey injustice, wrath and affliction, and all the names of gloomy requital. Exact mirrors show the reflections of faces as the faces are — bright for those who are bright, downcast for those who are gloomy — and no one would blame the nature of the mirror if the image appeared gloomy because the original had fallen into dejection. So too God’s just judgment is made like our dispositions, giving us from its own resources such things as ours are. “Come,” he says, “you who are blessed,” and “Depart, you who are cursed.” Is there any outside necessity in this, allotting the sweet voice to those on the right and the gloomy one to those on the left? Did not the first obtain mercy by what they did, while the others, by being harsh to their own kind, made the Divine harsh toward themselves? The rich man, sunk in luxuries, had no mercy on the poor man suffering at his gate; therefore he cut himself off from mercy, asking to be pitied and not being heard — not because one drop would have been a loss to the great spring of paradise, but because a drop of mercy cannot mix with harshness. “For what fellowship has light with darkness?” “Whatever a person sows,” he says, “that he will also reap; for the one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal
Chapter 1257
1257PG 44:1257a–1257d
αἰώνιον. Σπράν οἶμαι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εἶναι προαἰρεσιν· θέρος δὲ τὴν ὲπὶ τῇ προαιρέσει ἀντίδοσιν. Πολύχους 6 τῶν ἀγαθῶν στάχυς. τοῖς τοιαύτην ἑλομένοις σποράν· ἐπίπονος ἡ ἀκανθολογία τοῖς ἀκανθὼδη σπέρματα καταβαλλομένοις τῷ βίῳ. Χρὴ γὰρ πάντως,αὐτὸ θερίσαι τινὰ, ὅπερ ἔσπειρεν, καὶ οὐκ ἐστιν ἄλλως. Μακάριοι οι ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται. Τίς ἂν διεξέλθοι λόγος ἀνθρώπινος τὺ βάθος τῶν ἐγκειμένων νοημάτων τῷ λόγῳς Τὸ γὰρ ἀπόλυτόν τε καὶ ἀόριστον τῆς φωνῆς δίδωσί τι καὶ πλέον τῶν εἰρημένων περιεργάζεσθαι, τὸ μὴ προσθεῖναι τίνες εἰσιν εἰς οὓς ἐνεργὸν εἶναι προσήκει τὸν ἐλεοψ ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ὃτι Μακάριοι ὀὶ ἐλεήμονες. Τάχα γὰρ ἡμῖν τοιοῦτόν τι διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων 6 λόγος αἰνίττεται, ὡς ἀκολουθεῖν τῷ μακαρίῳ πένθει τὴν τοῦ ἐλέους διάνοιαν. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ μακαριστὸς ἦν, 6 τὸν τῇδε βίον ὲν πένθει ποιούμενος, καὶ ἔνθα μοι δοκεῖ τὴν ἴσην 6 λόγος ὑποσημαίνειν διδασκαλίαν. Ὠς γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων διατιθέμεθα συμφορῶν, ὅταν τινὲς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἡμῖν ἀβουλήτοις τισί συνενεχθῶσι λύπαις,ἢ πατρῴας οἰκίας ἐκπεπτωκότες, ἢ ναυαο γίου περισωθέντες γυμνοὶ, ἢ πειραταῖς, ἢ λῃσταῖς ύποχείριοι γεγονότες,“ἥ δοῦλοι ’ἐξ ἐλευθέρῷν, ἧς αἰχμάλωτοι ἐξ εὐδαιμόνων, ἢ ἀλλο τι τοιοῦτον ἀντιλαβόντες κακὸν, ot τέως ὲν εὐκληρίᾳ τινὶ τὸν βίον ἐξεταζόμενοι. Ὠς τοίνυν ἐπὶ τούτων ἀλγεινή τις γίνεται ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἡ συνδιάθεσις ο τάχα πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐφʼ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν εὔκαιρον ἂν εἴη τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνακεῖσθαι διάνοιαν ἐπὶ τῇ παρʼ ἀξίαν τοῦ βίου βολῇ. Ὅταν γὰρ λογισώμεθα, τίς ἡ λαμπρὰ ἡμῶν οίκία ἧς ἐκπεπτώκαμεν ’ πῶς ὑπὸ τοῖς λῃσταῖς γεγόναμεν· πῶς τῷ βυθῷ τοῦ τῇδε βίου καταὸυθισθέντες ἀπεγυ- “ μνώθημεν · οἴους κᾶι ὅσους δεσπότας ἀντὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας τε καὶ αὐτονόμου διαγωγῆς ὲπεσπασάμεθα · πῶς τὸ μακαριστὸν τῆς ζωῆς θανάτῳ καὶ φθορᾷ διεκόψαμεν ἆρα δυνατὸν, εἰ ταύτας λάβοι μεν ἐννοίας, ἀλλοτρίαις συμφοραῖς προσασχολεῖσθαι τὸν ἔλεον, καὶ οὐκ αὐτὴν ἐλεεινῶς τὴν ψυχὴν διατίθεσθαι, λογιζομένηνᾶτε εἶχεν, ὧν τε ὲκπέπτωκενς Τί γὰρ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ταύτης ἐλεεινότερον; Ἀντὶ τῆς ὲν τῷ παραδείσῳ τρυφῆς, τὸ νοσῶδες τοῦτο καὶ ἐπίπονον χωρίον ὲν τῇ ζωῇ κεκληρώμεθα· ἀντὶ τῆς ἀπαθείας ἐκείνης, τὰς μυρίας τῶν παθημάτων ἀντειλήφαμεν κῆραςο ἀντὶ τῆς ὑψηλῆς ἐκείνης διαγωγῆς, καὶ τῆς μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ζωῆς, τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς συνοικεῖν. κατεκρίθημεν· τοῦ ἀγγελικοῦ τε καὶ ἀπαθοῦς τὸν κτηνώδη βίον ἀνταλλαξάμενοι, τοὺς πικροὺς τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν τυράννους, τοὺς λυσσῶντας καὶ ἀγριαίνον- ’ τας δεσπότας, τίς ἂν ῥαδίως ἀριθμῷ περιλάβοι; Πικρὸς δεσπότης ὁ θυμός τοιοῦτος ἄλλος 6 φθόνος ’ τὸ· μῖσος, τὸ καθʼ ὑπερηφανίαν πάθος, λυσσώδης τις καὶ
aiōnion. Spran oimai tēn anthrōpinēn einai proairesin; theros de tēn epi tę̄ proairesei antidosin. Polychous 6 tōn agathōn stachys. tois toiautēn helomenois sporan; epiponos hē akanthologia tois akanthōdē spermata kataballomenois tǭ biǭ. Chrē gar pantōs,auto therisai tina, hoper espeiren, kai ouk estin allōs. Makarioi oi eleēmones, hoti autoi eleēthēsontai. Tis an diexelthoi logos anthrōpinos ty bathos tōn enkeimenōn noēmatōn tǭ logǭs To gar apolyton te kai aoriston tēs phōnēs didōsi ti kai pleon tōn eirēmenōn periergazesthai, to mē prostheinai tines eisin eis hous energon einai prosēkei ton eleops allʼ haplōs eipein hoti Makarioi oi eleēmones. Tacha gar hēmin toiouton ti dia tōn eirēmenōn 6 logos ainittetai, hōs akolouthein tǭ makariǭ penthei tēn tou eleous dianoian. Kai gar ekei makaristos ēn, 6 ton tę̄de bion en penthei poioumenos, kai entha moi dokei tēn isēn 6 logos hyposēmainein didaskalian. Ōs gar epi tōn allotriōn diatithemetha symphorōn, hotan tines tōn epitēdeiōn hēmin aboulētois tisi synenechthōsi lypais,ē patrǭas oikias ekpeptōkotes, ē nauao giou perisōthentes gymnoi, ē peiratais, ē lę̄stais ypocheirioi gegonotes,“hē douloi ’ex eleutherǭn, hēs aichmalōtoi ex eudaimonōn, ē allo ti toiouton antilabontes kakon, ot teōs en euklērią tini ton bion exetazomenoi. Ōs toinyn epi toutōn algeinē tis ginetai tais psychais hēmōn hē syndiathesis o tacha poly mallon ephʼ hēmōn autōn eukairon an eiē tēn toiautēn anakeisthai dianoian epi tę̄ parʼ axian tou biou bolę̄. Hotan gar logisōmetha, tis hē lampra hēmōn oikia hēs ekpeptōkamen ’ pōs hypo tois lę̄stais gegonamen; pōs tǭ bythǭ tou tę̄de biou kataouthisthentes apegy- “ mnōthēmen ; oious kai hosous despotas anti tēs eleutherias te kai autonomou diagōgēs epespasametha ; pōs to makariston tēs zōēs thanatǭ kai phthorą diekopsamen ara dynaton, ei tautas laboi men ennoias, allotriais symphorais prosascholeisthai ton eleon, kai ouk autēn eleeinōs tēn psychēn diatithesthai, logizomenēnate eichen, hōn te ekpeptōkens Ti gar tēs aichmalōsias tautēs eleeinoteron? Anti tēs en tǭ paradeisǭ tryphēs, to nosōdes touto kai epiponon chōrion en tę̄ zōę̄ keklērōmetha; anti tēs apatheias ekeinēs, tas myrias tōn pathēmatōn anteilēphamen kēraso anti tēs hypsēlēs ekeinēs diagōgēs, kai tēs meta tōn angelōn zōēs, tois thēriois tēs gēs synoikein. katekrithēmen; tou angelikou te kai apathous ton ktēnōdē bion antallaxamenoi, tous pikrous tēs zōēs hēmōn tyrannous, tous lyssōntas kai agriainon- ’ tas despotas, tis an rhadiōs arithmǭ perilaboi? Pikros despotēs ho thymos toioutos allos 6 phthonos ’ to; misos, to kathʼ hyperēphanian pathos, lyssōdēs tis kai
life.” I take the sowing to be human choice, and the harvest the requital for that choice. Rich is the ear of good things for those who have chosen such sowing; toilsome is the gathering of thorns for those who cast thorny seeds into their life. For each must certainly reap what he has sown, and it cannot be otherwise. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” What human word could go through the depth of the meanings that lie in the saying? The unqualified and unlimited form of the expression allows us to explore something more than what has been said, since he did not add toward whom mercy should be active, but said simply, “Blessed are the merciful.” Perhaps the Word hints through these words at something like this: that the meaning of mercy follows on the blessed mourning. For there, the one who passes his life here in mourning was blessed; and here the Word seems to me to point to the same teaching. Think how we are disposed toward the misfortunes of others, when some of our friends have met with unwanted griefs: driven out of their father’s house, or saved naked from a shipwreck, or fallen into the hands of pirates or robbers, or become slaves after being free, or captives after prosperity, or met with some other such evil, though until then they had passed their lives in good fortune. As in such cases a painful sympathy arises in our souls, perhaps it would be much more timely for us to direct such a mind toward ourselves, at the undeserved turn our own life has taken. For when we reckon what our splendid house was from which we were driven out; how we fell among robbers; how we were plunged into the deep of this life and stripped naked; what and how many masters we brought upon ourselves instead of freedom and a self-governing life; how we cut off the blessedness of life by death and corruption — is it possible, if we take these thoughts to heart, to spend our mercy on the misfortunes of others and not to dispose the soul itself to pity, as it reckons what it had and what it has fallen from? What is more pitiable than this captivity? Instead of the delight of paradise, we have been allotted this sickly and toilsome place for our life; instead of that freedom from passion, we have received in exchange the countless dooms of the passions; instead of that lofty way of life and life with the angels, we have been condemned to dwell with the beasts of the earth, exchanging the angelic and passionless life for the life of cattle. Who could easily count the bitter tyrants of our life, the raging and savage masters? Anger is a bitter master; envy is another such; hatred; the passion of arrogance, a raging and
Chapter 1259
1259PG 44:1260a–1260d
ἄγριος τύραννος ὡς ἀργυρωνήτων κατατρυφῶνά ἀκόλαστός ἐστι λογισμὸς, 6 πρὸς τὰς ἐμπτοεξ Lc καὶ ἀκαθάρτους ὑπηρεσίας ἐξανδραποδίζων τὴν ςεσιν · ἡ δέ τῆς πλεονεξίας τυραννὶς, τίνα οὑ παρέρχεο ται πικρίας ὑπερβολήν ; Ἡ τὴν ἀθλίαν δουλωσιμέπ ψυχὴν, ἀεὶ τὰς ἀπλήστους αὐτῆς ἐπιθυμίας πληροῐν ἀναγκάζει, πάντοτε δεχομένη καλ οὐδέποτε πλην»μένη · οἷόν τι πολυκέφαλον θηρίον, μυρίοις στόμια τῇ ἀπληρὼτῳ γαστρὶ τὴν τροφὴν παραπέμπει-ιιῇ οὑδείς ποτε τοῦ κερδαίνειν γίνεται κόρος· ἀλλά tl ἀεὶ λαμβανόμενον, ὑλη καὶ ὑπέκκαυμα τῆς τοῦ πλείονος ἐπιθυμίας καθίσταται. Τίς τοίνυν τὸν δύστηνον τοῦτον βίον κατανοήσας ἀνηλεῶς καὶ ἀπηνῶς πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας συμφορὰς διατίθεται; Ἀλλʼ αἴτιον τὴ μὴ ἐλεεῖν ἡμᾶς αὑτοὺς ἐν ἀναισθησίᾳ τῶν κακῶν, Β εἶναι · οἷόν τι πάσχουσιν oi ἐκ μανίας παράφοροι, ὅτι ή ὑπερβολὴ τοῦ κακοῦ, καὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν ὧν πάσχουσι προσαφῄρηται. Εἰ τοίνυν τις ἑαυτὸν ἐπιγνοεη, οἷός τε πρότερον ἦν, καὶ οἷος ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐστίνʼ φησὶ δέ που καὶ 6 Σολομῶν, ὅτι οι ἑαυτῶν ἐπιγνώμονες σοφοί· οὐδέποτε ἐλεῶν 6 τοιοῦτος παύσεται, τῇ δὲ τοιαύτῃ τῆς ψυχῆς διαθέσει καὶ 6 θεῖος ἕλεος κατά τὸ εἰκὸς ἀκολουθήσει. Διό ερησιν · Μακάριοι (ιε ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται. Αὑτοὶ οὑχὶ ἕτεροι· ἐν τούτῳ γάρ σαφηνίζει τὸ ὄνομα, ὡς ἂν εῐ τις λέγει, Μακάριόν ἐστι τὸ μελεῖσθαι τῆς σωματικῆς ὑγιείας. Ὀ γὰρ ἐπιμελούμενος, αὐτὸς ὲν ὑγιείᾳ βιώσεται ’ οὑτως ὁ ἐλεήμων ἐστὶ μακαριστὸς, ὅτι ὁ καρπὸς τοῦ ἐλέου ῐδιον κτῆμα τοῦ ἐλεοῦντος γίνεται· εἴτε κατὰ τὸν νῦν ἡμῖν εὕρεο θέντα λόγονʼ εἴτε κατὰ τὸν προεξητασμένον, τὸν ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων λέγω συμφορῶν δεικνύντα τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν συμπάθειαν ἀγαθὸν γὰρ ὁμοίως ἑκάτερον, τό τε ἐαυτὸν ἐλεεῖν κατὰ τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον, καὶ τὸ ωμ· πάσχειν ταῖς δυσπραγίαις τῶν πέλαςʼ διότι τὸ δίκαιοιν τῆς θείας κρίσεως, τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν καταδεεστέρων τοῦ ἀνθρώπου προαίρεσιν, ἐπὶ τῆς ὑπερεχούσης δείκνυ· ται ἐξουσίας· ὥστε τρόπον τινὰ ἑαυτοῦ δικαστὴν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἐαυτῷ τὴν ψῆφον ἐν τῇ τῶν ὑπηκόωγ φέροντα κρίσει. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν πεπίστευται, καὶ άληθῶς πεπίστευται, πᾶσαν παραστήσασθαι τὴν ἀνʼ 0 ρωπίνην φύσιν τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χ ριστοῦ, ἵνα κοξιλσηῗιι ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος, πρὸς ἃ ἔπραξεν, εἴτε ἀγαθὸν, εἴτε φαὺλονο τάχα καὶ τολμηρὸν είπεῖν · εξ δυνατόνʼ ἐστι τὰ ἀπόρρητα καὶ ἀθέατα λογισμῷ λαβεῖν. καὶ ήδη τὸ μακάριον τῆς ἀντιδόσεως τῶν ὲλεουμένων κατανοῆσαι· Ἦ γὰρ ἐγγινομένη ταῖς ψυχαῖς εὔνοιαι πρὸς τοὺς τὸν έλεον ἐπιδεικνυμένους, παρὰ τὸν βίον ἐν τῇ ζωῇ εἰσαεὶ κατά τὸ εἰκὸς παραμένει adipi-1' εσχηκόσι τῆς χάριτος. Τί οὖν εἰκὸς ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἐξετάσεως, εἰ ἐπιγνωσθείη παρὰ τῶν εὖ πεπινοὸτων 6 εὐεργέτης, ὅπως διατεθήσεται τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπὶ ταῖς εὑχαρίστοις φωναῖς ἐπὶ Θεοῦ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως ειν
agrios tyrannos hōs argyrōnētōn katatryphōna akolastos esti logismos, 6 pros tas emptoex Lc kai akathartous hypēresias exandrapodizōn tēn sesin ; hē de tēs pleonexias tyrannis, tina hou parercheo tai pikrias hyperbolēn ? Hē tēn athlian doulōsimep psychēn, aei tas aplēstous autēs epithymias plēroin anankazei, pantote dechomenē kal oudepote plēn»menē ; hoion ti polykephalon thērion, myriois stomia tę̄ aplērōtǭ gastri tēn trophēn parapempei-iię̄ houdeis pote tou kerdainein ginetai koros; alla tl aei lambanomenon, hylē kai hypekkauma tēs tou pleionos epithymias kathistatai. Tis toinyn ton dystēnon touton bion katanoēsas anēleōs kai apēnōs pros tas toiautas symphoras diatithetai? Allʼ aition tē mē eleein hēmas hautous en anaisthēsią tōn kakōn, B einai ; hoion ti paschousin oi ek manias paraphoroi, hoti ē hyperbolē tou kakou, kai tēn aisthēsin hōn paschousi prosaphę̄rētai. Ei toinyn tis heauton epignoeē, hoios te proteron ēn, kai hoios epi tou parontos estinʼ phēsi de pou kai 6 Solomōn, hoti oi heautōn epignōmones sophoi; oudepote eleōn 6 toioutos pausetai, tę̄ de toiautę̄ tēs psychēs diathesei kai 6 theios heleos kata to eikos akolouthēsei. Dio erēsin ; Makarioi (ie eleēmones, hoti autoi eleēthēsontai. Hautoi houchi heteroi; en toutǭ gar saphēnizei to onoma, hōs an ei tis legei, Makarion esti to meleisthai tēs sōmatikēs hygieias. O gar epimeloumenos, autos en hygieią biōsetai ’ houtōs ho eleēmōn esti makaristos, hoti ho karpos tou eleou idion ktēma tou eleountos ginetai; eite kata ton nyn hēmin heureo thenta logonʼ eite kata ton proexētasmenon, ton epi tōn allotriōn legō symphorōn deiknynta tēs psychēs tēn sympatheian agathon gar homoiōs hekateron, to te eauton eleein kata ton eirēmenon tropon, kai to ōm; paschein tais dyspragiais tōn pelasʼ dioti to dikaioin tēs theias kriseōs, tēn epi tōn katadeesterōn tou anthrōpou proairesin, epi tēs hyperechousēs deikny; tai exousias; hōste tropon tina heautou dikastēn einai ton anthrōpon, eautǭ tēn psēphon en tę̄ tōn hypēkoōg pheronta krisei. Epeidē toinyn pepisteutai, kai alēthōs pepisteutai, pasan parastēsasthai tēn anʼ 0 rōpinēn physin tǭ bēmati tou Ch ristou, hina koxilsēïii hekastos ta dia tou sōmatos, pros ha epraxen, eite agathon, eite phaulono tacha kai tolmēron eipein ; ex dynatonʼ esti ta aporrēta kai atheata logismǭ labein. kai ēdē to makarion tēs antidoseōs tōn eleoumenōn katanoēsai; Ē gar enginomenē tais psychais eunoiai pros tous ton eleon epideiknymenous, para ton bion en tę̄ zōę̄ eisaei kata to eikos paramenei adipi-1' eschēkosi tēs charitos. Ti oun eikos en tǭ kairǭ tēs exetaseōs, ei epignōstheiē para tōn eu pepinootōn 6 euergetēs, hopōs diatethēsetai tēn psychēn epi tais heucharistois phōnais epi Theou pasēs tēs ktiseōs ein
savage tyrant; licentious reasoning, which revels in us as in slaves bought with silver and enslaves our nature to passionate and unclean services; and the tyranny of greed — what extreme of bitterness does it not surpass? It compels the wretched soul it has enslaved always to satisfy its insatiable desires; it is always receiving and never filled. Like a many-headed beast it sends food through countless mouths to a belly that can never be filled; there is never any satiety of gain, but what is taken always becomes fuel and kindling for the desire for more. Who, then, having understood this wretched life, remains pitiless and harsh toward such misfortunes? The cause of our not pitying ourselves is that we are insensible of our evils, as happens to those deranged by madness: the very excess of the evil has taken away even the sense of what they suffer. If, then, someone comes to know himself — what he was before and what he is at present (and Solomon says somewhere that those who know themselves are wise) — such a one will never cease to pity, and divine mercy will fittingly follow such a disposition of soul. Therefore he says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” — they themselves, not others. In this he makes the name plain, as if one were to say, “It is a blessed thing to care for bodily health,” for whoever takes care of it will himself live in health. So the merciful man is blessed, because the fruit of mercy becomes his own possession — whether according to the account we have now found, or according to the one examined before, I mean the one that shows the soul’s sympathy with the misfortunes of others. Each is equally good: to pity oneself in the way described, and to suffer with the misfortunes of one’s neighbours. For the justice of the divine judgment displays, on the part of the higher authority, the choice a person has shown toward those beneath him, so that in a way a person is his own judge, casting the vote on himself as he judges his subjects. Since, then, it is believed — and truly believed — that all human nature will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive according to what he has done through the body, whether good or bad, it is perhaps bold to say, if one may grasp by reasoning what is secret and unseen, that we can already perceive the blessedness of the requital of those who show mercy. For the goodwill that arises in the souls of those who have experienced the kindness toward those who showed them mercy fittingly remains with them for ever. What, then, is likely to happen at the time of the examination, if the benefactor is recognized by those who received his kindness? How will he be disposed in soul when, at their thankful voices, he is praised before God and all creation
Chapter 1261
1261PG 44:1261a–1261d
ηδι : φημούμενος; τΑρά τινος ἄλλου μακαρισμοῦ προσδεηη- : θήσεται, ό ἐν τοσούτῳ θεάτρῳ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀρίστοις ἀναι κηρυττόμενος; Τὸ γάρ παρεῖναι τοὺς εὖ πεπονθότας, τ ἠ τοῦ Εὑαγγελίου διδάσκει φωνὴ, ἐν τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ί δικαίους καὶ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τοῦ βασιλέως ; κρίσει. Πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους γὰρ τῷ δεικτικῷ χρῆται, τ οἱονεὶ δακτύλῳ τὸ ὑπερκείμενον γνωρίσας Ἐφʼ ι ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἐνὶ τούτων τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου σιῶν τ ἐλαχίστων. Τὸ γάρ Τούτων εἰπεῖν, τὴν τῶν εὐπετ πονθότων παρουσίαν ἐνδείκνυται. Νῦν μοι λεγέτω ὀ τὴν ἄψυχον ὑλην τῶν χρημάτων : προτιμῶν τῆς μελλούσης μακαριότητος Ποία χρυσίου ; λαμπρότης τοιαύτης Τίνες τῶν πολυτιμήτων λίθων αὐγαί; Τίς ἐξ ἐνδυ μάτων κόσμος τοιοῦτος, οἷον ἐκεῖνο ι τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἡ ἐλπὶς ὑποτίθεται ; Ὅταν ὁ βασιλεύων τῆς ῖ κτίσεως ἐαυτὸν ἀνακαλύψῃ τῇ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσει, ἐπὶ η τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ θρόνου μεγαλοπρεπῶς προκαθήμενος, ὅταν ὀφθῶσι περὶ αὑτὸν αἱ ἀναρίθμητοι μυριάδες ς τῶν ἀγγέλων, καὶ δὴ ὅταν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς γένηται πάν- , των ἀπόρρητος τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλεία, καὶ ἀναδειχθῇ πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου τά φοβερά κολαστήρια · ἐν μέσῳ δὲ τούτων πᾶσαή ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις, τῶν ἀπὸ πρώτης κτίσεως καὶ μέχρι τῆς τοῦ παντὸς συμς πληρώσεως γεγονότων, φόβῳ τε καὶ ἐλπίδι τῶν μελλόντων ἑστήκῃ μετέωρος, τῇ ἐφʼ ἑκάτερα τῶν προσδοκωμένων ἐκβάσει κραδαινομένη πολλάκις · καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῇ συνειδήσει συνεζηκότων ἀπιστούντων τῷ μὲλλοντι, ὅταν ἐτέρους ίδωσιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ συνειδότος, είς τὸ σκυθρωπὸν ἐκεῖνο σκότος, ὥσπερ ὑπό τινος δημίου καθελκομένους; Ἐὰν οὗτος ἐν εὐφήμοις τε καὶ εὑχαρίστοις ταῖς παρά τῶν εὑπεπονθότων φωιαῖς, λαμπρὸς τῇ παρρησίᾳ τῷ κριτῇ παρὰ τῶν ἔργων προσαγάγηται ο ἆρα κατά τὸν ὑλώδη πλοῦτον εὐκληρίαν ἐκείνην εἶναι λογίσεται; Ἀρα δέξεται ἀντὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐκείνων ὅρη πάντα καὶ πεδία, καὶ νάπας, καὶ θάλασσαν, είς χρυσὸν αὑτῷ μεταποιηθέντα γενέσθαι; ’0 δὲ ἀκριβῶς σφραγίσι καὶ κλείθροις, καὶ σιδηροδέτοις πύλαις, καὶ ὀχυροῖς κρυπτηρίοις τὸν μαμωνάν κατακρύψας, καὶ πάσης ἐντολῆς τὸ ἀποκεῖσθαι αὐτῷ συγκεχωσμένην ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τὴν ὓλην προτιμότερον κρίνας, ἐὰν ἐπὶ τὸ σκοτεινὸν πῦρ ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν κατασύρηται ’ πάντων αὑτῷ τὸ ἀπεινές καὶ ἀνήμερον προφερόντων, τῶν κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ταύτην πεπειραμένων, καὶ λεγόντων· Μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σουʼ συναπέκλεισας ἐν τοῖς ὀχυρώμασι τοῦ πλούτου τὸν ἔλεον, καὶ κατ· ἔλιπες ὑπὲρ γῆς τὴν εὑσπλαγχνίανο οὑκ ἐκομίσω πρὸς τὸν τῇδε βίον τήν φιλανθρωπίαν · οὑκ ἐχεις δ μὴ ἔσχες· οὑχ εὑρίσκεις ὃ μή ἀπέθουο οὑ συνάγεις ὃ μή ἐσκόρπισας· οὐ θεριεῖς ὧν οὑ κατεβάλου τὰ σπέρματαο ἄξιόν σοι τῆς σπορᾶς τὸ θέρος ο πικρίαν ἔσπειρας, δρέπου τά δράγματαυ τὸ ἀνηλεές ἐτίμησας, ἔχε ὅπερ ἠγάπησας ο οὑκ εἶδες συμπαθῶς ο οὐκ ὀφθήσῃ ἐλεεινῶς. Περιεῖδες θλιβόμενον, περιοφθήσῃ
ēdi : phēmoumenos? tAra tinos allou makarismou prosdeēē- : thēsetai, o en tosoutǭ theatrǭ epi tois aristois anai kēryttomenos? To gar pareinai tous eu peponthotas, t ē tou Heuangeliou didaskei phōnē, en tę̄ pros tous i dikaious kai tę̄ pros tous hamartōlous tou basileōs ? krisei. Pros amphoterous gar tǭ deiktikǭ chrētai, t hoionei daktylǭ to hyperkeimenon gnōrisas Ephʼ i hoson epoiēsate eni toutōn tōn adelphōn mou siōn t elachistōn. To gar Toutōn eipein, tēn tōn eupet ponthotōn parousian endeiknytai. Nyn moi legetō o tēn apsychon hylēn tōn chrēmatōn : protimōn tēs mellousēs makariotētos Poia chrysiou ? lamprotēs toiautēs Tines tōn polytimētōn lithōn augai? Tis ex endy matōn kosmos toioutos, hoion ekeino i to agathon hē elpis hypotithetai ? Hotan ho basileuōn tēs i ktiseōs eauton anakalypsę̄ tę̄ anthrōpinē physei, epi ē tou hypsēlou thronou megaloprepōs prokathēmenos, hotan ophthōsi peri hauton hai anarithmētoi myriades s tōn angelōn, kai dē hotan en ophthalmois genētai pan- , tōn aporrētos tōn ouranōn basileia, kai anadeichthę̄ palin ek tou enantiou ta phobera kolastēria ; en mesǭ de toutōn pasaē anthrōpinē physis, tōn apo prōtēs ktiseōs kai mechri tēs tou pantos syms plērōseōs gegonotōn, phobǭ te kai elpidi tōn mellontōn hestēkę̄ meteōros, tę̄ ephʼ hekatera tōn prosdokōmenōn ekbasei kradainomenē pollakis ; kai tōn agathę̄ syneidēsei synezēkotōn apistountōn tǭ mellonti, hotan eterous idōsin, hypo tou ponērou syneidotos, eis to skythrōpon ekeino skotos, hōsper hypo tinos dēmiou kathelkomenous? Ean houtos en euphēmois te kai heucharistois tais para tōn heupeponthotōn phōiais, lampros tę̄ parrēsią tǭ kritę̄ para tōn ergōn prosagagētai o ara kata ton hylōdē plouton euklērian ekeinēn einai logisetai? Ara dexetai anti tōn agathōn ekeinōn horē panta kai pedia, kai napas, kai thalassan, eis chryson hautǭ metapoiēthenta genesthai? ’0 de akribōs sphragisi kai kleithrois, kai sidērodetois pylais, kai ochyrois kryptēriois ton mamōnan katakrypsas, kai pasēs entolēs to apokeisthai autǭ synkechōsmenēn en tǭ kryptǭ tēn hylēn protimoteron krinas, ean epi to skoteinon pyr epi kephalēn katasyrētai ’ pantōn hautǭ to apeines kai anēmeron propherontōn, tōn kata tēn zōēn tautēn pepeiramenōn, kai legontōn; Mnēsthēti hoti apelabes agatha sou en tę̄ zōę̄ souʼ synapekleisas en tois ochyrōmasi tou ploutou ton eleon, kai kat; elipes hyper gēs tēn heusplanchniano houk ekomisō pros ton tę̄de bion tēn philanthrōpian ; houk echeis d mē esches; houch heuriskeis ho mē apethouo hou synageis ho mē eskorpisas; ou therieis hōn hou katebalou ta spermatao axion soi tēs sporas to theros o pikrian espeiras, drepou ta dragmatau to anēlees etimēsas, eche hoper ēgapēsas o houk eides sympathōs o ouk ophthēsę̄ eleeinōs. Perieides thlibomenon, periophthēsę̄
? Will he need any other blessing, who is proclaimed for his noblest deeds in so great a theatre? That those who received kindness will be present, the voice of the Gospel teaches in the King’s judgment of the righteous and of the sinners. To both he uses a demonstrative word, pointing out what is before him as with a finger: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers.” By saying “these” he shows that those who received kindness are present. Now let the one who prefers the lifeless matter of money to the blessedness to come tell me: what brightness of gold is like it? What gleam of precious stones? What adornment of clothing is like that good which hope sets before us? When the King of creation reveals himself to human nature, seated in majesty on his lofty throne; when the countless myriads of angels are seen around him; when the ineffable kingdom of heaven comes before the eyes of all, and on the other side the fearful places of punishment are displayed; and in the midst of these the whole of human nature, all who have been born from the first creation to the consummation of the universe, stands in suspense between fear and hope of what is to come, often shaken toward one or the other of the outcomes it awaits; when even those who have lived with a good conscience are uncertain of the future as they see others dragged by an evil conscience into that gloomy darkness, as if by an executioner — if this man, amid the praising and thankful voices of those he helped, is brought before the Judge by his works, shining with confidence, will he reckon that good fortune to be like material wealth? Would he accept, in exchange for those goods, all the mountains and plains and glens, and the sea, turned into gold for him? But the one who carefully hid away his mammon with seals and bolts, with iron-bound gates and strong hiding places, and judged it better than any commandment that his wealth should lie buried in secret for him — if he is dragged headlong into the dark fire, while all who experienced his harshness and savagery in this life reproach him and say: “Remember that you received your good things in your life. You locked up mercy along with your wealth in your strongholds, and left compassion behind above the ground. You did not bring love of humankind with you to the life here: you do not have what you did not have; you do not find what you did not store up; you do not gather what you did not scatter; you will not reap what you did not sow. The harvest is worthy of your sowing: you sowed bitterness, gather its sheaves; you honoured mercilessness, have what you loved; you did not look with sympathy, you will not be looked upon with pity; you overlooked the afflicted, you will be overlooked